I'm Fine
by WriterMuffin
Summary: Her life had been turned upside down in a matter of weeks but nobody focused on her pain. She keeps solving everyone else's problem but what happens when her and her family is in danger? A story about Samtrick, the Davis Family, and maybe some Julexis and Siam. Continues from where Molly remembers the accident.
1. Prologue

Prologue

She sat there on the couch staring out at nothing. She had tears in her eyes but no of them had fallen. She couldn't stop thinking about the past few weeks. So many heartbreaking events had happened; so many events that would change her life. Rafe and Molly's accident, Rafe's death, the press drama between Dr. Drake and Dr. Clay, Patrick's termination at the hospital and then the fire that brought down the Davis home. She felt numb.

She was numb.

Rafe's death hit her the hardest. Nobody had ever considered her feelings when Rafe died. She knew him better than anyone else. They connected, related and had an understanding that no one else in Port Charles had. They both knew what it was like to be on the run, to not be able to trust anyone, to do anything to protect yourself, and they both knew the feeling of being lost. Sam knew him better than anyone did but yet nobody paid attention to her grief and pain. The attention was given to Dr. Clay because he was the uncle; he was the person who was supposedly taking care of him. Everybody felt sorry for him because Rafe was Silas's last connection to his brother, but yet they failed to realize that the two brothers detested one another; they hadn't spoken in years before Stephen Clay had been killed. Sam was left to choose between Silas and Patrick, there was no time for her to grief, no time to be angry or sad or in pain.

Everybody cried on her shoulders and she comforted them willingly, however, she could never fall on anyone: Patrick was preoccupied with the divorce, Alexis was house hunting and trying to salvage anything from the charred rubble that was a former house, Molly was grieving the murder of her father, and Maxie was busy dealing with her new boyfriend, Levi.

She had no one to talk to, no one to express her feelings with. She was alone. She just sat there on the couch.

One tear drop fell.


	2. Chapter 1: I'm Fine

This is my first fanfiction story, so please feel free to give comments on the writing or any suggestions on where you'd like the story to be taken. It'd be greatly appreciated, enjoy :) (This chapter is pretty short, I'm hoping to publish longer chapters in the future)

Chapter 1: I'm Fine

Sam woke up from her daze when she heard the knock on the door. She wiped the single tear away from her cheek trying to recompose herself, while walking to the door and opening it.

"Hello darling, sorry, I think Molly still has the key. She called me a while ago and told me she would be out for a bit."

It was Alexis. She was still rummaging through her purse as she walked. She was trying to find a place to place her keys in a mess she could a purse. Sam put her head in her hands realizing she had once again forgotten.

"Hey Mom. Sorry, I keep forgetting to go to the key shop to make copies of the key. I promise I'll get them for you tomorrow," Sam said as she brought her head back up, moving a piece of stranded hair in her face, back behind her ear.

Alexis, finally finding a spot to place her car keys, looked up to Sam.

"Don't worry honey. I know you're busy with Patrick, Silas, and the whole press drama and then me and Molly coming over and invading your pent… Hey what's wrong honey? You've been crying."

Sam audibly exhaled and brought her head down.

"I'm fine, Mom."

Sam closed the door, walked passed Alexis towards the couch and sat in the corner of the sofa, bringing her knees to her chest. Alexis quickly followed and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her daughter's knee.

"I'm not oblivious Sam. Something has been bothering you. I know this whole break up has been really tough on you but I have a feeling that's not the only thing that's been weighing on you," Alexis said, looking sympathetically into Sam's eyes.

"I don't know Mom. There have been so many things that have happened. I feel like it keeps building up inside of me and I'm scared that there will be a day where I… where I'll just explode. Every day I sense that the explosion will happen sooner and sooner. I'm a ticking time bomb. I have no way of releasing these emotions."

A tear begins to fall and Alexis leans over to wipe the droplet away. Sam closes her eyes and brushes her hand through her long black hair.

"Honey, why didn't you tell me you were feeling this way sooner? I know I've been busy but that doesn't mean I don't have time to talk to my eldest daughter. Just call me next time please."

Sam was to speak until her phone rang. She looked over to her phone on the coffee table and recognized the caller.

"I have to take this Mom, its Patrick. Sorry."

"No, no, no, go ahead. But this conversation isn't over. I'm going to head to bed." She said standing and heading over to the stairs.

Sam picked up her phone and brought it to her ear. "Hey Patrick, is everything alright? It's getting late." She listens to his response and immediately brings her face down into her hand.

"Yeah sure, I'll be over there in around 10 minutes. See you in a bit." She told Patrick and then hung up the phone, putting it into her jeans pocket. She walked over to the closet and got her black leather jacket and then picked up her keys from the desk


	3. Chapter 2: It Was On Purpose

Of course I don't own any characters in GH unfortunately. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: It Was On Purpose

Sam drove the car up Patrick's driveway and then got out. No matter what season it is, Port Charles is always cold at night. It could be 90 degrees during the day but then during the night it felt like it was late fall. It was August and here is Sam climbing out of her SUV in a leather jacket with her hands clasped underneath her arms for warmth.

Sam walked to the front porch and rang the doorbell. Patrick answered the door immediately, almost like he had been waiting anxiously for her arrival.

"Hi Patrick, is everything al…," she couldn't finish. Her eyes caught those of another man in the room. "What is he doing here?" she asked Patrick in detest.

"Silas and Molly came over and told me to call you. They said that they had something important to tell us both. It's something about Rafe and the crash," answered Patrick, ushering Sam inside.

It was only then that Sam noticed Molly sitting on the couch looking towards her. Molly looked slightly disturbed but mostly confused. Sam went over to the couch and sat next to her, trying to comfort her youngest sister.

"So what's going on? What is so important that couldn't wait until tomorrow?" asked Patrick.

"Molly remembered something from the crash," Silas started, "something about what Rafe said in the car before they crashed. Rafe drove Patrick off the road on purpose."

Molly took this as her cue to explain further. "He told me that it was an accident, and I thought he meant that he was high so I asked. He insisted that he wasn't high, that someone put him up to it. Somebody purposefully wanted Patrick and his family hurt. He… he drove you off the road on purpose Patrick, I'm so sorry," Molly explained.

Sam and Patrick were both shocked. They were in disbelief.

Sam hung her head down and brought Molly underneath her arms stroking Molly up and down her arms. Patrick, still standing, put one hand on his hip and his other hand by this mouth.

"So so wh… did he tell you who told him to drive my family off the road? Who drove me and my family off the road killing my son?" Patrick was clearly distressed, "Who wants me dead?" He was getting more and more agitated because now he knew that people were after his family. He couldn't think of any reason anybody would be after him, he was dumbfounded.

Molly looked at Patrick, the pain in his eyes visible. "We crashed before he could tell me who," she said still distraught by the memory. "Hey it's ok honey. Don't worry about Rafe or the crash. Silas, Patrick and I will figure this all out, okay," Sam said trying to comfort her sister, "why don't we start heading back to the penthouse, get you some rest." Molly nodded to Sam and stood up off the couch.

"I'll be heading out as well," Silas said walking to the door, "bye Sam." Sam gave him a small nod still not over the kiss the walked in on between Silas and Nina. Silas opened the door and left.

Sam stood up from the couch and walked over to her friend. "Patrick, I'm so sorry about all this and I'm sorry for leaving so soon. I'll stop by tomorrow so we talk about this further," she said to Patrick. Patrick moved closer to Sam and opened his arms to Sam to hug her. "I understand Sam, it's late. You guys should go home and get some rest. Take care of Molly and Danny," he said softly.

She didn't want to leave his grasp. It was so warm and cozy. She felt loved and that all her troubles weren't part of her life anymore. She closed her eyes and could imagine spending her life in the comfort of Patrick, but all good things must come to an end and before she knew it Patrick had opened door and she was out walking with Molly towards the car.

Sam and Molly climbed into the SUV and before Sam started the engine she looked over to Molly. "Are you ok, Molly? I know it has to be so hard for you now, between your father being killed and the car accident, I can't imagine what you are going through." She asked. Sam started the car while Molly took a deep breath.

"TJ has helped me a lot so far. I'm not perfect yet and I don't think or expect to anytime soon, but talking to him allows me to release a lot of my emotions. He is such a good listener and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to bring me through every day," she answered.

Sam smiled. Her sister was always so mature, more mature than she could ever dream of. Here was her sister dealing with such terrible events better than any other 16-year-old can and yet she couldn't deal with her crisis at her age.

"It's also good to have a person like him. Know that you also always have me if something ever happens between you and TJ. I'm not saying that anything will but I didn't think that anything could get between Silas and I 6 months ago and yet here we are. You are such an inspiration to me. You are the strongest woman I know and you are mature behind your eyes. I swear if I didn't know you were 16 I would have mistaken you for a mature 40-year-old."

"Do you think that you and Silas will ever get together again? I mean you guys were so good for each other. He was the first person you truly loved since Jason passed away." Molly asked.

Sam thought about the question for a while. The truth was that she had never really asked that question to herself before. She was so focused on Patrick and Nina that she hadn't given herself the time to think about the end of her relationship between Silas and her.

"I don't know Molly. I'd like to think so. I loved him, I still love him and it hurt so much to let go but it had to be done. There was no way I was going to survive if we kept going the way we were going. Nina came in and I knew immediately that he still had feelings for her, there was no hiding it. I just tried to ignore it and kept telling myself that those feelings would go away, that he loved me too much. I was wrong though. I never really looked at it from his perspective. I mean if Jason showed up alive, which I know will never happen, I would immediately go to him. So I guess my mistake was that I was still too much in love with someone else to love another guy," Sam didn't realize that a tear had fallen down her soft cheeks, "And I realized that too late, so I broke it off. I don't think we'll be getting back together anytime soon. I need to take care of myself first."

It hurt Molly to see her big sister still hurting from Jason's death. She thought that she had gotten over it when Sam took off her ring for Silas. "I'm sorry to bring up a sore subject Sam," she apologized.

Sam laughed. "Hey it's ok, you've always been a curious little girl. I don't think that'll stop anytime soon. How about we go to Kelly's for breakfast tomorrow?" she asked with a smile on her face, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

"I'd like that." Sam drove into the parking garage underneath her apartment building. They stepped out of the car and got into the elevator. Sam felt a little better inside after talking to Molly, even if it was only for 10 minutes. It was the first time she spoke about her breakup and it was painful but it was also a sense of relief. She could breathe better now.

* * *

So this chapter was slightly longer. Don't forget to comment on anything you like or dislike. Comment about anything you wish to happen later in the story ;)


	4. Chapter 3: Good Morning

Thank you guys so much for all the reviews and suggestions, I really appreciate it. This chapter will definitely reveal where this story is heading. Enjoy!

( I don't own any of the characters )

* * *

Chapter 3: The Break In

"Molly could you hurry up a little, I've been waiting for a half hour now!" yelled Sam from the bottom of the stairs. Sam then heard steps and thought it was Molly but instead it was Alexis.

"Could you at least try to hide your disappointment at the sight of me?" asked Alexis as she walked down the staircase. "Sorry Mom, I didn't mean to upset you. I was hoping you would be Molly, she's taking forever," apologized Sam. "I know honey, she should be down in a few minutes," replied Alexis, "where are you two heading?" Alexis picked up her coffee off the desk and took a sip.

"We are going to Kelly's for breakfast," answered Sam. Alexis finished her coffee and placed it on the dinner table. "Do you mind if I join in? A client just called me to tell me that my services aren't needed anymore so my morning is free. Apparently he was arrested in Florida for trespassing. Not much I can do for him from here in New York," said Alexis.

"Of course you can come along, it will a nice bonding session between us girls, we haven't had one in a long time," answered Sam, still annoyed that Molly is still not ready yet.

"But seriously, that client is just an idiot. He comes to Port Charles following, more like going after, his former mistress and then gets arrested for stalking. His bail was set at a low amount thanks to me. His wife found out about his arrest and the affair and got very mad understandably. So the client, or the former client, flew to Florida to try and patch things up with his wife, however, his wife just called the cops. So now he's…" Alexis always had the ability to keep talking even when no one is paying attention to her anymore. Sam stopped listening after she heard about the affair part. Just then Molly came down the stairs in t-shirt and jeans.

"Finally, does it really take you that long to get ready? I mean you are wearing t-shirt and jeans!" exclaimed Sam. "Sorry Sam, I was talking to TJ on the phone," explained Molly. "Of course you did, come on girls otherwise by the time we get to the diner we'll be eating lunch," demanded Alexis.

* * *

They arrived at Kelly's just to find it closed off with crime scene tape.

"What the hell happened?" exclaimed Sam as she peeked inside the window and saw that the place was a mess. Chairs and tables were overturned and there was broken glass all over. The flower pots were all broken with the soil scattered on the floor.

"The place was broken into a half hour ago. Two guys came in with black ski masks on and AK-47s in their hands. They shot up the whole place. People were running everywhere, trying to find the quickest escape route. It looks like a war zone now. Thankfully, though, no one was hurt," explained Shawn as he walked up to Alexis and Molly. Alexis was startled when Shawn came up behind her.

Sam was immediately suspicious. "Did they actually take anything?" interrogated Sam. Shawn walked over to Sam with his hands on his hips while Sam turned back around facing the group.

"No they didn't. They came in and looked around for a minute before shooting. It was almost as if they were searching for someone," answered Shawn. Sam felt a knot in her stomach and was very unsettled by the new revelation of events. "We were supposed to be here a half hour ago, Molly was late getting ready," realized Sam. Both Alexis and Molly looked up at Sam like she was crazy.

"Sam you're paranoid, those guys could have been after anyone," Alexis said and then Molly continued, "I agree with Mom, how would those guys have known that we would have been here at the time that we discussed. You and I were the only two people in the car."

Sam brushed past the two women and walked to her car on a mission. Her heels clicked against the pavement at a considerably fast rhythm. Alexis and Molly quickly followed suit trying to catch up with Sam who had now reached the car. Sam opened the door to her SUV and started searching through everything. She looked underneath the seats, in the glove compartment, and in the sides of the car doors.

"Honey, what in heaven's name are you looking for?" she asked her daughter whom was frantically searching throughout the entire car. Sam, as a final resort, looked up at the windshield visor and saw a small metal chip used for recording audio.

"This," answered Sam, "somebody bugged my car. They heard the conversation between Molly and I. Those guys were looking for us. Mom, I need to check your car as well. If there is nothing in your car then they are most likely just after me." Sam had gone in full on PI mode.

Alexis and Molly just stood there, frozen and flabbergasted. Someone wanted to hurt the family. "S.. Sam… how how did you…" stuttered Alexis before Sam interrupted, "Mom, we can't discuss this now, I know it's scary, but we have to go. I'm going to go ask Shawn if he can drive us back to the apartment. Once we are in the car I'll call Sonny so that he can order his men to check if there are any threats, like bombs, implanted in the car."

Sam ran back to the diner while Molly and Alexis stood like statues, pale and still. They didn't know how to respond, how to react, or what to do. Sam had been through this kind of crisis before. She lived the life of constant danger. They hadn't.

* * *

Everyone got out of the car as soon as they arrived including Shawn. He wanted to help because Alexis still meant something to him and Molly was TJ's girlfriend. Sam didn't object to the help; "two people are better than one," she thought. Molly and Alexis stayed on the side and just watched. They felt like they were watching a movie; that it wasn't actually real, that this isn't actually happening to them.

"Shawn, you check the passenger side. I'll search the driver's side," commanded Sam, "Mom, where are the keys? Mom!"

Sam's mom sprung back into reality. She was still thinking about earlier that morning. Everything was ok, she was going to spend the morning with her daughters, something that hadn't happened in the longest time.

Alexis desperately searched her bag, found the keys to her sedan and gave them to her oldest daughter. Sam then opened the doors and checked the visors first while Shawn was checking glove compartment.

Sam got an even bigger pit in her stomach, as if it could get any bigger, after what she found taped to the windshield visor. Not only did she find a chip identical to the one she found in her car, but, she also found a note. It became eerily quiet. Everyone stared in anticipation at Sam, waiting to see what might be written on the piece of paper. They all hoped that it could give an answer to the question that they were all asking.

She took a deep breath before opening the letter.

_Hello Samantha,_

_I'm so very sorry that we missed each other at the diner but it wasn't my fault. You said you would be there at 8:00. Instead you arrived at 8:32. Shame on you._

_Hope to see you soon._

Sam dropped the letter. It was Sam's turn to be a statue.

* * *

There was more action in this chapter. Don't worry Patrick will still be involved in the story, I know it sorta feels like he's been written out. Once again thank you so much for the reviews and the suggestions.


	5. Chapter 4: Temporary Home

I want to apologize for the fact that it took me so long to write this chapter. I've been extremely busy the last 5 days and have had no time to write at all. To try and make up for this, I made this chapter longer than my last chapters. Thank you so much for the reviews, I greatly appreciate them :D :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4: Temporary Home

Sam rang the doorbell.

"Monica, is Danny ok?" asked Sam in a state of panic and full of worries. Monica stood there stunned. She wasn't expecting Sam until the next morning.

"MONICA! Is he here?!" yelled Sam when Monica didn't respond. "Um yeah yeah, he is upstairs sleeping. Sam is everything alright?" before Monica could even finish her question Sam was already up the stairs, running to Danny's room. Monica tried to catch up but Sam was already at Danny's door by the time she reached the stair case.

Sam quietly opened the door and tried to prepare herself for what could be behind the door. To be honest, there was nothing she could do to prepare herself. Danny was her son. Her pride and joy. One of her last connections of Jason. A child that she couldn't have for the longest time.

She stepped into the room and saw Danny sleeping. He was safe and sound. Sam ran and picked up Danny out of his crib and held him very tightly, not caring about him waking up. All she cared about was the fact that her son was alive and breathing. There was no evidence of any harm against her precious baby.

"Sam, could you please tell me what in heaven's name is going on?" asked Monica as she walked in. Sam turned around and faced Monica. Someone is after me. I don't know who or why but I don't think my family is safe. I wanted to make sure that Danny boy here was alright. I called Sonny on my way here and told him to set up a safe house outside of Port Charles so that I know Alexis, Molly and Danny will be safe. I know they won't like it but it's the only way I can keep them safe. I'm so sorry for bursting into the house and taking Danny away from you so soon but I promise you I'll make it up to you. I have to leave now and get the girls settled into the house," answered Sam.

Before Monica could say a word, Sam was out the door and outside, getting Danny strapped into the car seat.

* * *

"Sam, do you honestly think this is the best decision. I mean we can stay in your penthouse and just have guards stand outside the door. At least then we can stay in Port Charles and put our lives on halt," complained Alexis as she, Sam and Molly were lugging the suitcases into the temporary home.

"Mom, for the last time, they infiltrated our homes. They blew up your house and they knew when we arrived at Kelly's, down to the minute. They bugged our cars and then left me a note," claimed Sam tired of Alexis's constant whining. Alexis dropped her luggage in the living room by the couches and started unpacking some of Danny's toys. "Do you even know for sure that they were the ones that blew up my house? Julian admitted that he was the reason behind it."

"Are you really going to trust a man who disguised his identity for months? He fooled us. Mom, he told us that he was out of the mob but look where that got us," yelled Sam.

Alexis looked sternly into Sam's eyes, clearly annoyed at the fact that her daughter was yelling at her. "Well, Samantha, seeing as you know so much about the mob, you should know that no mob boss would give into so much humility unless he was telling the truth."

Sam sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go get Danny into his crib and debrief the guards one last time on their jobs," said Sam as she left the room.

Molly sat down on the old leather couch in the corner of the living room visibly exhausted from the heavy labor of moving luggage from the car to the house. "Molly, why did you bring in the luggage so fast? We couldn't keep up with you. You practically brought in 75% of the entire luggage," asked Alexis.

"I wanted to get settled in as fast as possible so that's one thing off of Sam's list. She is under so much stress and I thought the quicker we unloaded the faster she could find who is after her," answered Molly, "Mom, I have a question. Why is she so upset about this threat? I'm sure she's had other threats before considering she is a private investigator. What's so special about this on?"

Alexis came over to the couch and sat next to Molly. "This is the first time that her family has been involved," explained Alexis and she took Molly's hand. "But for all we know they might still only be targeting Sam. I mean we happened to go with her to Kelly's but that doesn't mean that they were specifically after me. They could have only counted on the fact that Sam was there,' replied Molly.

"They bugged my car. This is the first time that her family has been involved and that's all it takes for Sam."

* * *

It was 9 O'clock at night when Sam finally returned to her penthouse. It was an eventful day to say the least. Now it is up to Sam to find the person who is after her.

Sam sat down at her desk and turned on her laptop. She pulled a bag that contained the two chips, out of her pocket and placed it on the desk. Just as she was about to open the bag she heard a knock on the door. She was immediately alarmed and took her gun out of the drawer in the desk.

"Who is it?" yelled Sam.

"It's me, Patrick," Sam relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

She opened the door and Patrick raised his hands instinctively. "Woah, badass. I know it's late but don't you think you're being a little too protective," said Patrick. Sam pulled Patrick in, closed and locked the door and placed the gun back into the drawer.

"Long story short: Someone is trying to hurt or even kill me, I don't know. They are using my family to do so. They bugged my car and Alexis's car and they left a note in my car," said Sam quickly, "grab a chair from the living room. I could use your help right now. I mean if that's ok with you of course."

Patrick stood there dumbfounded, not sure what to make out of the information. He waited a few moments for the information to sink in before he went to obtain a chair from the dining room. "Of course I'll help you Sam. Nobody gets to mess with my badass and her family," said Patrick staring at Sam who was looking intensely at the computer screen.

She was gorgeous. Breathless. Her beautiful silky brunette hair that flowed effortlessly. Her intense brown eyes that gave warmth to anyone that stared into them. Patrick couldn't help but slowly fall for a lovely, adventurous woman. "So what are you planning to do to try and find these guys?" asked Patrick.

"I'm planning on using a software that tracks all barcodes from chips, security cameras, voice recorders etc. It'll show where the items were sold, assuming it wasn't on the black market and otherwise we can track where the chip has been since most of them have tracking devices in them. If the items were sold legally then we'll be able to see who bought the item and when it was bought," explained Sam, "what's the make of one of the chips?"

Patrick opened the bag and pulled out a chip. "It's from a company called SpyPilot," said Patrick as Sam was typing away on the computer, reminding him of Spinelli and his fine cyber skills. "The barcode is 099782104." A result came up on the screen with the purchase record. "Alright, alright. The chip was sold on Long Island to a man named Rafael Cortez," said Sam as she turned to face her partner.

"Well. Does the name ring a bell? I assume that if a guy is after you that you should at least know who he is," asked Patrick. Sam closed her eyes trying to remember the name. "Blank. Maybe he's under an alias. One of the rules of having an alias though is that you should change it every now and then, but many people forget about that rule and keep using the same alias. Every now and then there is a small slip to the real identity. Spinelli created this database with all newspapers, arrest records, marriage records etc. and you just need a name and it'll pull all the related information for you. There should be clue somewhere. Let me type in the name."

Patrick looked over Sam's shoulders and waited for results. "Wait, stop there," demanded Patrick, "it's a news article about the Cortez family." Sam clicked on the news article and read the passage.

"Well, it's certainly not an alias," said Patrick. "It says here that they are infamous loan sharks that use violence and blackmail to get what they want," said Sam summarizing the article. "Sam, are you in any sort of debt or do you owe anybody any money? Maybe something from your past?" asked Patrick who grew concerned. Sam shook her head. "I always made sure that I was never in debt. I heard about the loan sharks and didn't want to be part of their victim list. I stole the money from the 5 husbands I had but I gave all 5 of them their money back after the whole Amelia situation," answered Sam.

"Where is their office located?" inquired Patrick.

"Their main office is in Yorktown Heights. It's in Westchester county, just north of NYC."

"Well, why don't we go down there on a stakeout and do some surveillance," said Patrick with a smirk on his face, "did you check this place for bugs?" Sam couldn't help but smile at Patrick's smirk; he did always have the cutest dimples. "I had some of Sonny's men check the place out while I got Danny from Monica's house. They didn't find anything. Alexis, Molly and Danny are now in a safe house just in case though," replied Sam.

Patrick stood up from his chair and took out his cellphone from his pocket. "I have to call Emma. She's at a sleepover with some of friends from camp and I just wanted to wish her a good night," said Patrick. "Of course. You can go upstairs for more privacy. I'll work on plane tickets and hotel rooms for tomorrow. Are you sure you want to come with me? What about Emma?" asked Sam as Patrick was walking up the stairs. "Emma has a field trip at camp for the next 3 days so I was going to be lonely anyway," responded Patrick.

Patrick disappeared upstairs while Sam returned to the laptop.

* * *

Patrick finished up his phone call with Emma and headed downstairs. He saw Sam fast asleep with her head on top of her arms on her desk. He felt terrible for her. She had been dealing with so much before and now she has some crazy psycho person after her and her family. No wonder she was completely exhausted and passed out on the desk. He continued down the stairs and walked over to Sam. He place one arm under her upper back and then other arm behind her knees and lifted her. He couldn't help notice how right it felt to have her in her arms. She felt weightless and cradled in his arms so well, almost like she was supposed to fit there, right in his arms. He brought her to the couch and threw a blanket on her before sitting next to her. He felt at peace in the penthouse with Sam. It felt like everything was alright. He could forget about his job (or lack thereof), about his divorce and about Rafe.

* * *

Thank you again for all the reviews and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. More chapters to come!


	6. Chapter 5: Deal

Thank you so much for the reviews again. Please continue to feel free to give me feedback about the story so far. Just as a side note: Robin didn't revive Jason, instead she killed him. Also, Victor didn't have Rafe run Patrick and his family off the road. It won't affect this chapter but just thought I would put it out there. Enjoy the chapter :D

(Don't own any of the characters on GH)

* * *

Chapter 5: Deal

Alexis and Molly sat at the dinner table playing Uno, trying to pass time. They had no Wi-Fi, no cellphones and as it turned out their satellite television was missing its satellite. The television just stood on the cabinet with a blank black screen.

"Uno," said Molly unenthusiastically. It was going to be her fourth straight win. Alexis was frustrated at this point. She was one of the best lawyers in Port Charles and yet here she is, incapable of winning a game of Uno against her 16 year old daughter.

"I have to stop letting you win," teased Alexis as Molly placed down her final card.

"OMG, you are such a sore loser," laughed Molly.

It was meant as a joke but it was so true. Alexis had an allergic reaction to loss. It was one of the reasons she was such a good lawyer; the thought gave her the drive to work that extra hour or ask the one extra question in court. It started when she gave up her first daughter, Sam. It was so painful. It was as if someone had just ripped her heart out of her chest. She never wanted to feel loss again even though she knew it was inevitable. She was bound to lose a court case, or a game, or even a shoe.

There was a knock at the door. "Mom, Molly? It's Sam," yelled Sam as she waited anxiously. Molly sprung out of her chair, ran and opened the door, and then hugged Sam. "You have no idea how lonely it is here," said Molly.

Alexis turned around to face her two daughters. "Gee thanks Molly, way to spare my feelings. I'll continue to act like I don't exist," said Alexis sarcastically, "Sam could you have at least given us a satellite for our TV."

Sam snickered at the bickering between Molly and her mother. Sam closed the door and gave her mother a warm hug.

"Sonny and I purposefully took down the satellite because we're afraid that they'll find you via the satellite. It's a stretch, I know, but it is still plausible. At least I made sure you guys had one thing: pre-cooked meals. We all know how skilled Mom is at the kitchen," explained Sam. "Anyway, Patrick and I are leaving to Westchester County to follow up on a lead we have. The plane is leaving in a few hours so I wanted to make sure everything and everyone was alright."

Both Alexis and Molly knew not to ask further questions about the lead. Sam didn't want to give away information until she was sure of it herself and she tried her best to not get her family involved in the investigation. Sam was very much like Jason in those regards, always reserved until it was necessary.

"Sam, can we at least have some sort of communication device in case of emergencies? Or even if something were to happen to you, I want to some form of connection with you," said Alexis.

Sam took out a small flip-phone and car keys out of her pocket. "This is a non-traceable phone. I quickly drove to Sonny earlier this morning and he gave it to me. It only has 120 minutes on it so please only use it in emergencies. Also these are the keys for the Ford that's in the garage. It has a full tank of gas but only use it if you have to. One last thing, make sure that Danny is kept safe," pleaded Sam.

Alexis took the phone and the keys and placed them in a shelf in the kitchen. "Honey, I promise that Danny will be loved to death and kept safe. Danny is sleeping in his crib upstairs. Do you want to go see him before you leave?" asked Alexis even though she already knew the answer.

All three of them walked up the stairs with Sam leading. Sam walked into the bedroom and saw her baby sleeping just like she had seen him at Monica's the day before. This she didn't want to wake him. He needed his rest because who knows how exhausting Molly and Alexis can be. Alexis and Molly stood by the doorway until they decided to give Sam some privacy.

"Hey Danny boy," said Sam as she was gazing down at her son. "Mommy loves you and I promise I will keep you safe. That's actually why I am leaving you for a few days now but I'll be back to cradle you in my arms. Nobody is going to take you away from me." Sam couldn't help but tear up a little. It hurt her every time she had to leave him, even if it meant for a few days. Leaving him always tugged on heart strings like someone was playing Tug-of-War with her heart. She had already missed on the first few months of his life because a certain someone switched him with a baby that had passed away. She didn't want to lose any more time with but she knew this was the only she could keep him safe.

She was afraid that if she didn't spend enough time with her son that she would fail him. Just like she thought she had failed Rafe. She didn't pay enough attention to him. She didn't realize he was on drugs. She didn't realize how much trouble he was in.

She had failed him.

Meanwhile, in the living room Molly and Alexis were sitting in the couch next to one another.

"Mom, have you noticed that Sam and Patrick have been spending an awful long time with each other?" asked Molly.

"Honey, they are just friends. I'll admit, they are very close friends but that is because they've both been through a lot and they can relate to each other. I mean they both know what is like to lose someone that you love with your whole heart," answered Alexis.

"But every time Sam sees Patrick she lights up and when Patrick sees Sam he can't help but just stare at her. You have to admit, they have chemistry."

"Yes they have chemistry but I'm not sure if they are both ready to move on. Patrick is still trying to heal from losing his son and Sam just broke up with Silas. I think one day in the future they'll get together but not today. Not now."

* * *

Sam and Patrick both boarded the aircraft and found their seats in the economy class.

"So this morning I did some more research on the Cortez family. I'll show you what I've compiled when we're above 10,000 feet above the ground. I learned that the…" Sam was caught off by Patrick.

"Sam stop! Take a break. You've been going nonstop since yesterday morning. Get some rest right now. You said that it was at least an hour drive from LaGuardia Airport to our hotel. We can about the information then. I know time is crucial here but there is nothing we can do 10,000 feet in the air and I don't want you to collapse from exhaustion and have to carry you," said Patrick.

Sam laughed a little at Patrick's last remark. She had to agree with Patrick though; there was nothing she was going to be able to do on a plane. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Patrick. I know this must be pretty frustrating for you as well," apologized Sam.

"Don't apologize Sam, none of this is your fault. Let's forget about this now. How is Danny?" asked Patrick, changing the topic of conversation.

Sam smiled up to Patrick. "He is doing well. I saw him this morning. He was sleeping so peacefully. I actually took him to his 2 year check-up and he passed with flying colors. It's almost as if he never had leukemia," said Sam.

The plane then took off and flew above the lakes. Sam gazed out the window and was in awe at the beauty of the lakes.

"You know, no matter how many times I fly over the lakes, the view never gets old. I just wish I could go down to the lake in person because I haven't been in so long. It's been years since I've even been on a boat," said Sam.

"I'll make a deal with you. When all this drama is over, I'll let you take me on a ride in a boat on the lake. I'll be in charge of the drinks and food," said Patrick.

Sam smiled and placed her head on Patrick's shoulders.

"Deal."

* * *

Patrick and Sam stepped into the Mazda 6: their rental car for the next few days. It had coffee stains on the leather seats and the dashboard had numerous scratches. It also smelled like fish but good thing that Patrick, who had had previous experience with rental cars, bought a car refresher at the rental shop. Patrick sat in the driver's seat while Sam sat in the passenger seat sifting through papers containing information about the Cortez family.

"Alright so it says here that the Cortez business has been since the Great Depression. The family was rich because they were one of the main distributors of booze during the prohibition. They loaned money to families who were hit the hardest by the stock market crash in 1929. The families signed contracts with the business stating the once the family was considered financial stable they would have to pay off the debt with a 40% interest," said Sam informing Patrick.

Patrick was shocked. "That's a pretty steep interest, don't you think?"

"I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. However, the business didn't work out very well, obviously, for multiple reasons. Some families never got to the point of financial stability and thus never paid off the loan. Other families argued that if they paid back the debt they would lose their financial stability and would have to take out another loan, and then of course other families thought the interest rate was way too high. Not that I blame them. Anyway, as a result the business lost a lot of money so they resorted to blackmail and violence. They threatened to hurt or even people who couldn't pay off the loan. Police have been trying for years to get some family members into prison but the victims are always too scared to testify and the police can never find any evidence. They've been earning millions of dollars ever since. The last 20 years they've been trying to obtain clients who are gamblers because they are often desperate for money. However, police are now cracking down on underground gambling and thus the family is losing money again."

Patrick looked over at Sam. "Talk about being greedy about money," said Patrick.

After an hour of driving, Patrick pulled up to the Holiday Inn parking lot. "Come on, let's go get our keys," said Patrick as he turned off the engine. Sam walked into the hotel and went over to the front desk with Patrick trailing behind her.

"Hello, I reserved two rooms under the name Sam Morgan," said Sam to the receptionist. The receptionist proceeded to type in the name and then had a confused look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but it says here that you only reserved one room at this hotel," she said.

"Wow, that's odd. Is it possible that you can change it to two rooms?" asked Sam.

"I'm so sorry but the hotel is fully booked. This is a popular vacation spot and people want to have one last vacation before the end of summer," apologized the receptionist.

Patrick couldn't help but laugh at the predicament they were in. "You know its ok. We'll survive with one room," he said.

"Alright then, you're room number is 314. The elevators are just around the corner to your left. Your room is on the third floor. Breakfast is at 7 and if you need any help the desk is open until midnight. Here are your hotel cards and I hope you guys enjoy your stay," said the receptionist with a selling smile.

They took the cards, went on the elevator, walk to their room and opened the door. Sam walked into the room and placed her bag on the bed and noticed a letter on the bed as well. Sam picked it up and had an unnerving in her stomach.

_Dear Sam,_

_I see you figured out where we are located. Congratulations. Meet me at my office at 4 P.M. sharp. Don't be late like last time._

_Sincerely,_

_Rafael Cortez_

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the chapter (sorry I kinda ended it on a cliffhanger). There is more to come, however, school is starting so I may not be able to get the chapters out as fast as before. Again, feel free to leave reviews. :D


	7. Chapter 6: Towards the Danger

I first want to apologize taking such a long time to update. School started this week and thus I was a bit busy. This is a short update but there will certainly be a longer update within the next 2 days. Thank you again for all the reviews. I really appreciate it and they help me to keep motivated. I really you guys enjoy this installment.

(Don't own any of the characters except for the Cortez family)

* * *

Chapter 6: Towards the Danger

3:31 P.M.

Sam and Patrick were already on the road with Patrick driving again. Patrick didn't trust Sam to drive because she was too emotionally and mentally invested with the Cortez family and could easily wrap both of them around a tree. They argued about it for a few minutes until Patrick put his foot down.

Before they left the hotel Patrick went to the gas station to fill the car just in case they had to make a run for it. Meanwhile, Sam was in the hotel room on her laptop tracking down exactly where the office was located. She knew it was in Yorktown Heights but that was the extent of her knowledge of the location. She searched through numerous newspaper articles and police reports but couldn't find a single clue. As a last ditch resort she picked up the letter off the floor.

Inspecting the letter carefully, Sam held it up to the light to try and see any hidden clues and then turned it over to find an address listed. Sam felt like a complete fool because she had spent so much time on the laptop researching when along it was on the back of the damn note.

She quickly looked up the building on the internet to find the floor plans. She wanted to know every escape route and have it memorized. Afterwards, she went to her suitcase and pulled out a small metallic briefcase. She opened it and pulled out 2 earpieces and 2 miniature mics. Walking over to the bathroom, Sam opened her black button down blouse, took tape and taped the small mic to her chest. She then proceeded to place her knife in her boot and placed her gun in her belt holster. She made sure she had a small Baretta for Patrick so that he could have a method of protecting himself as well in case anything were to go terribly wrong.

"What's the address?" asked Patrick while driving.

"It's 1776 Front Street, Yorktown Heights. It is disguised as an auto repair shop," answered Sam. She was scared and anxious and nervous.

Patrick was still relatively calm considering he had never encountered a situation such as this before. He had little experience with a gun and the closet encounter to gun danger was when Lisa held him, Robin, Maxie and later Spinelli hostage, but yet he still has a calming feel about him. He sensed that Sam was about to throw up, though, and decided to pull over to the side of the road.

"Patrick, what are you doing? We can't be late. I can't be late." She emphasized. Patrick placed the car in park.

"Sam you are going insane. If there is one thing I've learnt from surgery, it's that if you keeping think about possible scenarios you won't be fully focused on the actual scenario happening right in front of you. I know it's not the same as private investigating but for both jobs there is life and death. You can't lose focus and attention. I'm going to be with you every step of the way. You've gotten through worse so don't let this stump you," he said.

"I can't help but think about what-ifs. They knew what hotel we were staying at. They knew our room number before us. What if they know where my family is? What if they know where Danny, Alexis, and Molly are and hurt them? I couldn't live with myself is something happened to them at my expense. But you are right, I need to be 100% focused and thinking about these stupid what-ifs is not going to help," said Sam.

"Sam, you have every right to worry, but that doesn't mean you can lose focus. We'll be fine and Danny, Alexis and Molly are safe. They will continue to be safe, I promise you. Nothing will happen to them," said Patrick.

Sam nodded. She placed her head on his shoulders while Patrick placed his arms around her.

"Thank you."

* * *

Patrick pulled up two doors down from the garage.

"Okay, I have a mic on as do you. I'm going to place this ear piece in and while you are in the car, you can hear everything that's going on and you can tell me any information about anything that is happening outside. Or if you hear anything that sounds unusual, you can look it up on the laptop and give me some info. Here is a Baretta and the safety is on. There is another gun in the glove box in case of emergencies. I'm fully armed so don't worry about me okay." Sam said as she was placing her earpiece in.

"Sam, I'm going to worry. You're already lucky enough that I'm not going in with you. I think you should start heading in now, its 3:56. I'll see you soon," said Patrick as he leaned towards Sam and kissed her. It felt natural like they've been together for decades. Like it was something they always did but better.

Sam then looked down at her watch and opened her door. She looked back one more time and then stepped out. Patrick watched. Sam walked to the garage. Towards the danger.

He couldn't help but feel an emotional attachment to her. She isn't his best friend anymore. She is something more. She is someone who has been missing from his entire life. He didn't want her to go. Hell, he wanted to walk in with her, at least then he would be there to protect her, but he knew that would put her in more danger. They had a plan. They had to follow it and Patrick running after Sam was definitely not part of it. Patrick was left in the car to listen to Sam and give her information. If anything happened, he would be stuck in the car, most likely too late to save her.

3:59

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the nice little surprise. More is to come soon! :D


	8. Chapter 7: The Meeting

So here it as, as promised. This chapter has a big reveal of who the family is and why they want Sam. I hope you enjoy and please review 3

* * *

Chapter 7: The Meeting

Two men stood in the garage when Sam walked in. They both had all black uniforms with black sunglasses, except one was a bit taller and skinnier than the other one. You could have sworn they were identical to the guards on TV. They noticed her walk in and the taller one took out his cellphone. "She's arrived," he said and then hung up. Not two seconds later and a short Hispanic man walked out of the inside door. He was bald with a goatee and looked to be around his later 30's. His pants were around his knees with plaid boxers and wore a plain black t-shirt.

He looked towards one of his guards and pointed his finger towards Sam. "Check her," he ordered. The smaller guard walked towards Sam while Sam slowly stepped back. "Wha… Wait, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Look girl, we are just checking you for any weapons. We don't want you shooting this place up," the guard in a very hoarse voice. He's definitely a smoker noted Sam. The guard then proceeded to push Sam towards the nearest wall and put her hands on the wall and spread her legs. Sam knew she was going to be in trouble and decided against saying anything during the search.

He began patting her starting at her arms and working his way down. He stopped at her waist and pulled out her gun. He emptied the clip and then dropped the gun and the clip on to the ground and continued to work his way down. He unzipped her boots and pulled out her knife and dropped that to the ground. "Look's someone wanted to be well protected," laughed the other guard.

"Honey, rip off your mic and take out your earpiece. You won't need those in here," said the man that Sam assumed was the head of the operation. Reluctantly, Sam reached underneath her blouse and took off her microphone and then took out the earpiece. The mic and earpiece were handed over to man in charge.

"Patrick, I don't want you listening in on this conversation. Don't worry, Sam will be fine and she should be back in your car in two hours. That is if she doesn't cause us any trouble," he said into the microphone.

"Sam, come with us," directed the man, "Dwight, stay here in case Patrick has any ideas. Garret, come with me." The taller man, Garret, followed behind his boss and Sam. The boss led them inside through two corridors and then entered a room that looked very similar to a conference room.

"Sam, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything to drink, water, sodas?" asked the boss as he sat at the head of the round table. Sam sat down in a chair on the side of the table. "I don't want any of your drinks. For all I know you could have tainted it. Can we just get this over with? Tell me what you want so that I can go back home to my family," said Sam as she got more and more annoyed.

"Alright then, Dwight, stand outside the door so that me and Sam can have some privacy," ordered the boss, "My name is Rafael Cortez, but you might have already known that. Your dad, well more like your adopted father, is the reason why you are here."

Sam couldn't believe it. After all these years her con dad was still causing her so much trouble. She put her head in her hands. "Whatever my father did to you and your family was years ago. I'm sure you have enough money to get over that. Also, I have had nothing to do with any of my father's actions. I hated him," said Sam with intensity.

"Sam, Sam, Sam. You were associated with your non-biological father. That is all I care about. I'm sure you know that he was a big time gambler. He asked us for quite a sum of money and promised to pay us back double as long as he got into the business. He said that he would be good for the business. He would give us extra revenue by conning people into either getting a loan from us or paying a loan that they had with us. My brother was very naïve at that time and decided he was a good investment," he explained.

"My father conned you guys. Wow, who are the smart ones here? So you want money? Is that really worth my family over, blowing up my mother's house up for?" Sam was on the verge of yelling at Rafael.

"Calm down Sam. There is more I need to tell you" he said.

"There is more! You have got to be kidding me!" Sam knew that her dad had gotten into sticky situations but she didn't know why he was so stupid to con an infamous loan shark company.

"Yes indeed. You see, the business hasn't been doing very well lately. It's partly because the state has been cracking down on illegal gambling rings but also because we have a rival shark loan company that is stealing all our customers. The reason why we had to warn your family was so that we could get you down here. We are pretty sure you wouldn't have come had we sent a normal letter in the mail," he clarified.

"So you want money. How much?" she asked.

"I doubt you'd be willing to pay two million dollars. Your father definitely did a good job convincing my brother to give him a big sum of cash. I want you to do something for us," said Rafael.

Sam was shocked. How in the world did her father manage to pull two million dollars out of these guys? "What do you mean you want me to do something for you?"

"We want you take down our rivals. I could have chosen any of our debtors but I chose you because you're a renowned P.I.," he said.

"No way, I am not getting into any of your filthy business," yelled Sam as she rose out of her seat.

"Sam! Sit back down! You will do as I say. Remember, I was the one who ordered Rafe to run Patrick off the road and ordered my guys to place tracers in your car. I can easily find them in their safe house. Don't push me!" said Rafael in a passive aggressive voice.

"What! You were the ones that told Rafe to drive Patrick off the road. You killed Patrick's son. You killed Rafe! How do you live with yourself!?" said Sam still standing.

"I had to do something to get your attention. Unfortunately you were a bit too slow to find out who made Rafe do what he did so I decided to have my guys ambush Kelly's. Now just for the record, I didn't blow up your mother's house. That was Julian's doing. Now sit back down! I want to keep this meeting civilized and would hate to take out my gun," he warned Sam. Sam slowly sat back in her chair and looked at Rafael.

"Give me six months and I'll get your two million dollars," pleaded Sam.

"No, I don't want your money. I want you to find evidence that could land the boss of the rival company in jail. It's more profitable for me and you owe me," he said, "besides, knowing you're talents in investigating, you should be finished a lot quicker than 6 months. If you don't complete the task, however, consequences will happen." He pulled out a picture of Sam and Danny and showed it to Sam. It was an extra incentive for Sam essentially stating that if she didn't agree her precious son will get hurt.

Sam took a deep breath and then looked down. "Fine, I'll do it but my family has to stay out of this!"

Rafael smiled and took a folder from his side of the table and slid it to Sam.

"This is all the information that I've collected about them in the past two years," he said. Sam flipped through the folder. She only found only one page with the most basic information such as the name of the company and the location.

"What am I supposed to do with this? There is nothing in this folder!" said Sam sternly.

"They have pretty tight security. That and I've been a bit busy with my own business. Hence the reason why I hired you," he explained, "Now I know they are pretty much as violent as we are but they don't go after the families of the debtors like we do."

"Aren't I lucky," mumbled Sam under her breath.

"I have your cellphone number. I want your cellphone to be own you at all costs because I might call at any time of the day and I hate it when people don't answer. I expect frequent updates and I'll let you know of any new information," he said as he stood up from his chair. Sam also proceeded to get out of her chair. Rafael walked over to her and put his hand out waiting for Sam to shake it. Sam completely ignored the handshake and started walking towards the door. Rafael grabbed her arm and pinned her against the wall.

"I also hate it when people don't show my respect. When my hand is out I expect you to shake it! Do you understand?" he said sternly.

Sam struggled against his grip and tried to move around and get out his hold but he was grasping her wrists too tightly.

"Let go of me!" she yelled. Rafael tightened his grips around her wrists.

"Respect!" he whispered into her ear.

"Fine! Fine, just let go me," complied Sam. Rafael let go of his tight grip and held out his hand again. This time Sam shook his hand.

"Now, was that so hard?"

* * *

So now you know why Rafael wanted her. What will Sam? Will Patrick help her? Will she take down the rival company or will she run into problems?

Thank you for reading!


	9. Chapter 8: James Bond

Hi again. This is the new chapter (obviously haha). Anyway, I was thinking of posting on my profile when I'll have my next chapter up by. Tell me if you'd want that or not. It'll also help because then I'll have a deadline.

This chapter is slightly different than the past chapters and it's more about the relationship between characters. If you want me to pace the story faster or slower please let me know, or if you want more relationship moments or action moments. Thanks 3

(Don't own any characters except for the obvious Cortez family and their enemies)

* * *

Chapter 8: Mac and Alexis

Patrick didn't know what to do when he lost communication with Sam. It was driving him crazy. What if they hurt her? What if they are still hurting her? What if they killed her? "Stop it Patrick, she's fine. The man said they wouldn't harm Sam," thought Patrick. He checked his watch. It's only been a half hour. How was he going to survive another hour and a half? He tried turning the music on but the song Happy by Pharrell Williams was certainly not going to help him right now. He attempted to read the New York City newspapers except that it was mostly about violence and crime. "Gosh can anything calm my nerves?!" he thought.

He had thought about sneaking into the garage but the man in all black was a little too intimidating. He was armed with a neat looking pistol and all he had was a small Baretta. He was also pretty sure that the guy has had gun training and all the experience he had was from Lisa and James Bond.

Then, just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, he saw Sam walk out of the garage with her manila folder. She looked rather distraught and exhausted but still walked over to the car at a hasty pace. Patrick unlocked the car and Sam climbed in.

"Drive," commanded Sam.

Patrick complied with Sam knowing that she wasn't taking any prisoners and immediately turned on the engine.

"Sam what happened in there?" asked Patrick.

"Ugh, they want me to go after a threat," Sam said bluntly.

Patrick was completely confused now. What threat? Why do they want her to do it? What in heaven's name is going on?

"Do you care to explain?" asked Patrick. Sam went on to explain everything about the meeting and about her non-biological father.

"Hey, at least they were nice enough to give my gun and knife back," said Sam as she took her gun out of her holster and place it in the car door.

"So wait, do you even have any prove that your father actually loaned money from them?" questioned Patrick.

"As I walking out the office, Rafael handed me a contract with my father's signature on the bottom. I just can't believe that my father would be stupid to sign a contract with them. I thought he was a lot smarter with his cons," exasperated Sam. Patrick pulled into the hotel parking and parked the Mazda near the main entrance. They both stepped out of the car and walked to their room. Sam unlocked the door and sat on the bed.

"So what is the next step?" asked Patrick as he followed Sam and sat next to her.

"We go back to Port Charles. There is little we can do here with just my laptop. I have more resources back home that I can use. I also want to get my restless family out of the safe house. Rafael said he wouldn't harm them as long as stuck to the task and not tell too many people of my mission," answered Sam.

* * *

Alexis walked down the stairs with Danny in her arms.

"Hey Molly, how are you?" asked Alexis.

Molly was playing solitaire with an actual deck instead of the usual computerized version. It was one of the only ways to keep her occupied.

"I'm alright. I'm just worried about Sam. She hasn't called us and given us any updates. I want to know if she is okay and when she is coming home," responded Molly. Alexis placed Danny into the playpen in the corner of the room and then sat next to Molly.

"Honey, I'm worried as well, but knowing her she's probably busy and will call us soon when she knows something. She knows that we hate the idea of a safe house and she'll try her best to get us out of here but her first priority is to keep us safe. For now we just have to hang in there," said Alexis.

"Yeah I know. Let's talk about something else. It's one of the only ways we can actually pass time around here. You wonder how the people survived without modern technology." Molly said turning around to face Alexis.

"Well, a lot of them had farms. They woke up at the crack of dawn and started working until the sun was down. Then they went to sleep because they were too tired to anything else. Do you want to talk about your father? I know it must be extremely hard on you. I can't imagine how difficult this must have been for you these last couple of months," sympathized Alexis.

"It's hard to believe that he is actually gone. He is gone. I remember when he still lived in California. We talked once every week, basically catching up on everything that's happened in each other's life. When he was killed it felt like he was in California again. I was expecting a video chat request but it never came. I feel like I'm always waiting for something that I know will never happen again," said Molly letting her tears fall but quickly wiped them away. "Anyway, how is your romance life going?"

"Wow darling, it's pretty much nonexistent, and I'm certainly not getting any action here in this safe house," laughed Alexis. She knew that Molly wanted to change the topic and she also knew that if her daughter wanted to talk to her she would.

"Whatever happened to Mac. Come on, he has got to be your best match in Port Charles," mentioned Molly.

"Omg Molly. There is nothing and there will never be anything between me and Mac. We are just merely friends and we will stay that way. Man, I thought we dropped this years ago," exasperated Alexis.

"We did but I think we need to bring it back up again considering the last two men you've dated were part of the mob," said Molly sternly.

"Molly, I don't want to date Mac! Honey, he has his heart set on someone else. I mean you can't deny the fact that he is heads over heels in love with Felicia. And I don't want to date him because he is the guy who watches Sunday Night Football with a beer in his hands screaming at the T.V. I don't think I'm that kind of person. I'm more into let's say dramas and feeling emotions with characters on the T.V. or in books. I'm more anal and precise," said Alexis in slight frustration. She wanted to get this whole Mac dating situation done and over with.

The phone rang in the kitchen and Alexis immediately jumped up and ran to the kitchen to pick up the phone.

Alexis: Sam? Is that you?

Sam: Hi Mom, I'm sorry I haven't been able to call.

Alexis: What's going on? Are you guys safe? When are you coming back home?

Sam: Mom! Mom! Mom! Everything is fine. Well, as good as can possibly be. Both me and Patrick are both safe. I booked a flight back home tomorrow afternoon. I should be back at the safe house around 5 in the evening. Is Danny okay?

Alexis: Danny is perfectly fine. He's sleeping in his playpen right now. He is seriously the easiest the baby to take care of. I think you're paying your nanny too much because he is no work what so ever. I wish Molly and Kristina were this calm when they were babies.

Molly (_in the background_): Hey, says the woman who can only seem to fall for the dangerous men when she is a lawyer!

Sam (_laughs_): Yeah, he's very much like Jason, so stoic and calm. How are you and Molly hanging in there?

Alexis (_walks to a more private area within the house as to make sure Molly doesn't eavesdrop_): We're doing ok. We've been able to get some good bonding sessions going. I think it's been long overdue for us. With everything that's been going on we haven't had the chance to just stop and talk. So have there been any breaks in the case?

Sam: Yes, we actually know why they targeted us and I was able to have a one on one meeting with the boss. I'll explain everything when I get home and you will be settled into the penthouse once I arrive.

Alexis: Ok Sam. I hope everything stays alright and I'll be waiting for you tomorrow. Good night.

Sam: Good night, Mom.

* * *

I got to use some screenwriting skills in this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 9: It's a Date

This chapter is mostly about Patrick and Sam. Enjoy!

(Don't own any of the character except for the obvious)

* * *

Chapter 9: It's a Date

"What do you say we look into the folder?" asked Patrick after he got off the phone with Anna. Sam looked up from her phone still thinking about her call with her mother. "Yeah, definitely, the quicker we get this done the quicker this can all be over," she returned. She reached over to the desk and picked up the manila folder.

* * *

**Cortez Family Corp.**

July 07, 2014

Classification: Case 910 Level 2, Section Sh-Si

Security: Classified

File Number: **4472109SH**

**Subject: Shephard Loaners [Shephard Family]**

Business: Loan Sharks

Clientele: Gamblers, drug dealers, drug addicts

Method: Targets individuals not family or friends

Address: Sheridan Drive, Amherst, 14226, NY

Relationship to Company: Business rivals

Employees:

-CEO: Ryder Shephard

__Spouse:_ Negative

__Offspring:_ Negative

__Alias:_ Unknown

**Uncompleted File**

* * *

They both looked intensely at the single piece of paper. This was all they had to work off of; they would have to essentially to start with nothing.

"Like I said before, this page is barely going to help us at all," said Sam.

"They're located in Amherst, that's right next to Buffalo. I know because Emma had a dance recital there last year," said Patrick.

"Wait, Buffalo is only a half hour away from Port Charles. Sonny might know about them. I'm going to call him right now," said Sam dialing the number in her phone.

"Alright, I'll call Mercy and see if they're willing to hire a murdering neurosurgeon," laughed Patrick as he walked out of the hotel room.

Sonny: Sam, hey! How is.. How is the case going?

Sam: Well, that's actually why I called. Sonny have you ever heard of the Shephard Family before?

Sunny: The Shephard Family! They've been around for a while Sam. I wouldn't want to mess with them though.

Sam: Wait you know about them? Okay, okay, so what do you know about them? Are they dangerous?

Sonny: They are known to be very secretive in their methods. They have men stationed at casinos and street corners on watch for potential clients. If you're in trouble then they are there to help and give you money. You sign a contract and you get the cash. However, you get two warnings of late payments before you disappear. They know how to cover their tracks and they never use firearms or knives to kill anyone, and they never go after the family.

Sam: Wait, if the clients disappear then how do you know they don't use guns?

Sonny: The FBI ran an undercover operation in the 90's. They sent an agent in to pose for a broke gambler and they had the agent pry for information. He found out some information however the company knew the whole time and played him. He disappeared and they displayed a body in the FBI office and another in the court house.

Sam: Wow, sounds gruesome. So I'm assuming that FBI backed off after that whole situation. Are they stationed anywhere else besides Amherst?

Sonny: I honestly wouldn't know. Sam, is… is there a reason why you're asking me these questions?

Sam: I'll explain when I come back to Port Charles tomorrow. Can you help Alexis, Molly and Danny go back to my penthouse? They aren't in danger anymore and if we don't do this now they'll end up biting each other's heads off.

Sonny: Alright, I'll have them ready.

Sam hung up the phone and Patrick walked back into the room. Talk about perfect timing.

"Hey, how did the whole Mercy thing go?" asked Sam. Patrick placed his iPhone into his back pocket.

"Well, I have an interview next week," answered Patrick, "How about Sonny?"

"Wow, that's great Patrick. Congratulations. Sonny knew about all the Shephard Family and how they are extremely secretive and don't use "violent methods" to kill people," said Sam.

"I think its best I don't ask right now. How about we go for dinner?" inquired Patrick.

"Sure, I'm starving. I saw a drive-thru when we were driving back."

"Sam, how about we really go to dinner. I want you to have dinner with me at a nice fancy restaurant. There is one not too far away from here."

"Like a date?" asked Sam shyly.

"Exactly," said Patrick with a big grin on his face.

"Bu.. but. Patrick," Sam stumbled. She was caught completely off guard but she knew she wanted this.

"Sam, we've known each other for a while. I want to know you better, be with you, and be there for you. We'll have fun, a time to just forget about this for a couple of hours," said Patrick.

"But I don't have anything nice to wear," said Sam.

"So we get you a dress. I'm pretty sure they have a shop around here," proposed Patrick.

"Okay, it's a date."

* * *

Patrick was waiting for Sam to come out of the hotel room, waiting for her to change into her dress. Sam didn't allow Patrick to come in with her when they went shopping for a dress. "I want it to be a surprise," she had said. It was killing Patrick considering he was never the patient type but he certainly didn't want to rush Sam. She wanted to be beautiful even though in Patrick's eyes she already was. It would the first time that she has dressed for a date with him. Not for Jason, Lucky, or even Silas.

He was dressed in a blue striped button down shirt with slacks and a blazer that he bought at a local store. He felt like he wasn't dressed well enough for Sam because he knew Sam would come out looking stunning and here is in what he would contend as his work clothes. He didn't have a tie on.

Sam walked out of the hotel room. It was a simple short red strapless dress. Patrick couldn't keep his eyes off her. He surely felt underdressed now.

"You lo… look stunning," said Patrick. Sam began blushing.

"Thank you," she said moving her hair behind her ear, "I was a bit nervous. I'm not big on colors. Mostly wear black or grey or white."

Patrick held out his arm and they folded elbows as they headed towards the elevator.

* * *

"Your desert should be here in a few minutes," said the waiter taking the desert menus off the table.

"So, let's forget about this whole Cortez, Shephard Family crap. What is your favorite color?" asked Patrick impulsively.

"What… what is my favorite color. Umm, I'm not sure. I think blue," she answered.

"You think?" asked Patrick. Sam rolled her eyes and laughed at the remark.

"What about you, what is your favorite color?" asked Sam in return.

"Hmmm, pink. It's Emma favorite color," laughed Patrick. Sam laughed along with Patrick.

"Do you always allow girls to choose your favorites?" asked Sam as a joke.

"Only Emma. What is your favorite number?"

"What is up with these questions?" inquired Sam.

"Well, I know so much about your life and Danny but I don't know you. I don't know the basics about you. Usually on a date, two people learn something about the other person that they previously didn't know, at least that's the way it is on T.V.?" answered Patrick.

"You make a good argument. My favorite number is 0601, the date that Danny was born. What do you like on your pizza?"

"Well I know you certainly like pineapple on your pizza. I like plain or pepperoni pizza. I'm an easy-going guy," joked Patrick. Sam couldn't help but burst out laughing a bit.

"Wow, an easy-going guy, I'll remember that one."

* * *

After the desert, Patrick and Sam decided to go to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. They set up a blanket on the grass and held each other while looking up at the stars.

"Thank you for getting my mind off the whole situation," said Sam gratefully, "I needed it."

"It was my pleasure. I like having you in my arms. Feels like how it should have always felt."

"It feels safe and comfortable in your arms," said Sam. "Do you miss her, Robin?"

"Haha, Sam, whatever happened to not talking about ex's on your first date?" remarked Patrick.

"Come on, Patrick, we've known each other for a while now. Just answer the question," returned Sam.

"I think I used to. Now I just want to be done with everything. Leave that behind me and start anew. Of course I'm never going to forget what we had and I can't thank her enough for giving me Emma, but everything has it's time. Somethings are meant to be and somethings aren't," answered Patrick.

"I think about Jason sometimes. I miss him still but I feel like he's proud of me. I want to move on and I thought I could trust Silas but looking back, he was always lying to me. He never told me he was married. It's not like I would have dumped him, I mean I'm the first to admit that I've had a shady past. And told him all this but he didn't trust me enough to tell me his secrets. I think we would have broken up a few months after Rafe was killed if it hadn't been up to Nina," said Sam.

"Yeah, I agree. You had a good relationship for a while but you changed this past year and he wasn't on the same page. Let's be quiet for a few moments and just listen to things around us now."

Sam closed her eyes and listen to birds chirping in the night. She felt the warmth of Patrick's arms around her and she felt as safe as she had in Jason's arms, but it was different. Patrick was here with her. Jason was just a figure of imagination now. The feeling of warmth was something she had been missing since Jason left. Something that Silas could never give.

She felt at peace. For that moment.

* * *

So, I slowly wrote this chapter over the course of this week. It was actually quite nice to write this chapter, very sentimental. Anyhow, the date of my next update will be on my profile. Thanks for reading! 3


	11. Chapter 10: Not Bad

So I'm updating sooner than what it says on my profile but I wrote a lot over the week. Thank you for the reviews and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10: Not Bad

Patrick woke up immediately when the alarm went off. Being a doctor for so many, one gets used to the early mornings and the sound of alarm or a pager. He reached over to his phone and turned the annoying noise off. It was 8:00 A.M.

Patrick then looked over next to him and saw Sam lying there. She was didn't seem fazed by the alarm at all. "She must have been a lot more exhausted by the situation than I thought," thought Patrick. He wanted to wake her up because he knew she hated waking up late and he also knew that she still wanted to get a few things sorted before they go back to Port Charles. However, he didn't want to wake her up rudely. He leaned over to Sam quietly and slowly and then kissed her softly on the cheek. She stirred a little and a smile slowly crept up on her face.

"Hey Patrick," said Sam still groggy.

"Hey Sunshine," said Patrick in return.

"Last night was amazing," said Sam.

"Any night with me is amazing," boasted Patrick.

"Haha, well make sure your ego doesn't weigh your head down to the floor," laughed Sam, "but seriously, it's been a long time since I've felt that way and that I've had an evening like the one we had."

"Yeah, if only we had separate rooms," joked Patrick. Sam took the pillow from under her head and threw it at Patrick's face.

"Hey hey, don't be messing up this pretty face," remarked Patrick.

"O my gosh, you are ridiculous," said Sam.

"I'm also a good kisser," retorted Patrick.

"Really, did you try on yourself? Did you kiss your arm something? I'm going have to test that theory you have, come here," commanded Sam.

They both leaned into each other placed each other's lips on the other. Patrick tasted her lips and passionately kissed Sam. He felt a rush of emotions run through him. He loved Sam, he didn't know it for so many years but he did love her. This kiss proved it.

"Not bad," said Sam.

* * *

Both Sam and Patrick went to a nearby diner and enjoyed breakfast together. The Shephard Family situation came up but Patrick didn't want to talk about it until they were back in Port Charles so that they would have more privacy. They eventually checked out of the hotel and went on the road towards New York City to LaGuardia Airport. The smelly car was returned to the rental shop and they got a taxi to bring them to the airport. They checked in and received their flight tickets.

"When are we boarding?" asked Sam impatiently.

"Wow, Sam, I think Emma is more patient than you," remarked Patrick.

"O come on, I have a lot going on now. Just tell me."

"We'll be boarding in a half an hour," answered Patrick. They walked over to the gate and found seats next to the window.

"You know you'd make a good P.I. If you weren't a brilliant neurosurgeon I would totally hire you for my firm," said Sam. Patrick laughed at the thought. He loved detective work but that's always why he loves his job, he has to come up with answers for his patients. He had never thought of only being a detective and not having to do all the surgeries.

"Yeah well, I wanted to be better than my father. How is the firm going by the way? I mean because you don't have Spinelli anymore and there have been so many things going on," asked Patrick.

"Haha. My firm is practically non-existent. I feel like I haven't worked on an actual case in years. Most of it is your fault though," said Sam.

"Of course, I'm the one being blamed for all your problems, but yes I agree. You have been so busy with trying to find the person who ran me off the road to the person who killed my son," said Patrick.

"Patrick, I did it willingly. I know you would have done the same for me, I mean you helped me break in to that stupid clinic," said Sam in return.

"I just feel like owe you though. You've done so much for me and here you are dealing with your own myriad of problems. You broke up with Silas and Rafe died and all I could care was having you try to find the murderer who killed Gabriel," said Patrick sympathetically.

"That is where you are wrong. You helped me when Danny was sick. You told me trust Silas and to continue my life. Yes, Silas and I didn't work out in the end but we had our amazing moments and I was able to be with someone again. I felt like trying to find who killed your Sam who be at least a small token of repayment towards you," said Sam.

"The flight to Port Charles is now boarding at gate 3. We ask that all handicapped passengers or families with baby carriages go first. Afterwards we will ask for first class or sky member to board. Please look at your ticket for your zone number as that is the way we will be calling you up to board the plane."

Patrick and Sam stood up from their chairs and walked over to the boarding area when their zone was finally called.

"You know, the way they board planes is very inefficient. I read an article the other day about this physicist, Jason Steffen, who came up with a way for passengers to board planes faster. Basically, the business class goes first still but then for the economy class the people sitting on the window seat on the left side will go first starting with the back. And then the right side goes and then the second row goes until the plane is full. This way passengers aren't waiting for other passengers to place their bag in the overhead and that passengers have to stand up, move to the aisle and then have the passenger go to their seat. It just baffles me that airlines aren't using this technique," said Patrick informing Sam.

"I think you should write a letter to all the airliners and try to convince them to change. Patrick , you store a lot of information up in that the big head of yours haha. But that is interesting," said Sam, "all I really care about is that we get home in one piece."

* * *

The doorbell rang and Alexis stood up from the table and walked to answer the door.

"Sam, how are you?" welcome Alexis, embracing her daughter.

"Hey, I'm fine, a little tired but okay," answered Sam walking in and closing the door behind her, "where is Molly and Danny?"

"Molly is probably upstairs reading another romance novel and Danny is sleeping. I've been here doing paperwork for my clients. So are you going to tell me what happened?" asked Alexis. Sam went to the table and sat down and Alexis followed in suit sitting across from her.

"I was right. They were after me. It's an organization called the Cortez Family and they are debt collectors. Long story short, my 'dad' had a run in with them and got into a sticky situation and now they want revenge because they're business is going down the drain. I asked if they wanted money but they said they had a better use for me. They want me to do surveillance on another organization that is very secretive, the Shephard Family. I have to find something incriminating," explained Sam.

"Woah, slow down there honey. The Shephard Family! Gosh, they are dangerous Sam. I don't want you to even attempt to look in their direction," said Alexis.

"How do _you_ know about them?" asked Sam, surprised that her mother had heard from them.

"I've had a couple romantic interests in mobsters, these things come up in dinner conversations," answered Alexis, "but please tell me you aren't going to go after them."

"Mom, I don't have a choice. Rafael Cortez, the CEO, will hurt you guys if I don't. And don't tell me that you are going to stay here or that you'll have guards around you because I know you Mom," exasperated Sam. Alexis placed her hand on head and once again thought her eldest daughter was going over her head.

"Do you at least have a plan?" asked Alexis in desperation.

"I always have a plan. I thought me and Patrick could do an undercover operation. Where I go in as a person in debt and convince them to give me only half of what I need. I tell them that I can invest in the money and give them twice the amount of money in return. That way they can trust me and let me in on their operation. I don't expect to get to the CEO immediately but I'm going to work my way up. I'll keep trying to get more and more money for them. Once I get to a point in the company I'll be able to get my hands on some incriminating evidence," explained Sam.

Alexis took a deep breath and thought over the plan carefully.

"There are so many flaws in that plan that it's ridiculous. Where are you going to get the money? What is Patrick's role in this operation? How are you going to protect yourself?" said Alexis, asking the questions in rapid fire.

"Well, I'm not going to ask for a million dollars and Sonny is going to lend me the money. I can also use the money that Jason left behind if need be. I'll have a mic on so that Patrick can catch everything I'm saying and document it. And I always know how to protect myself. I'll have a knife in my boot and a gun in bra holster," answered Sam. Alexis rolled her eyes at just the thought of her daughter openly going into danger but knew that nothing she could do would change her daughter's mind.

"When are you putting this plan into motion?"

"Well, I was thinking the sooner the better, that way we can forget about all this. I was going to go to a casino in Niagara Falls tonight."

Just then Molly walked down the stairs and spotted Sam sitting at the table in the dining room.

"Sam! Why didn't you tell me you were home?" asked Molly as she ran over to Sam and hugged her.

"Hey Sis, sorry I wanted to talk to mom here for a few minutes," answered Sam. Molly went over to sit next to her sister.

"Okay, so tell me what's going on?" asked Molly.

"Well, mom will explain everything to you later but right now I need to get you guys back to the penthouse cause I have some things to do tonight," said Sam standing up from the table.

"Alright then, Sonny came by and helped us pack a bunch of things we just need to break down the crib and load everything into the car and we should be fine," said Alexis.

* * *

"Are you ready?" asked Sam. Patrick looked over to Sam.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess. At least we aren't in that stupid Mazda anymore. And for the record, I didn't come up with this plan and I'm against you going in there and risking your life. The problem is that you are so insistent," returned Patrick.

"Yeah sure, you came along for the thrills," laughed Sam as she stepped out of the car, "I'll see you soon."

Sam walked over to the casino and entered in. It was definitely a shady place to be in this part of town. She saw body guards at the door and saw a bunch of drunken men at the roulette tables.

"Wow, this is like déjà vu to my past when I was con woman," whispered Sam into her mic.

"Are you sure it was your past," joked Patrick. Sam immediately rolled her eyes at the comment. Patrick always loved to tease her.

Sam continued to walk around and observe her surroundings. She noted the exits in case of future emergencies and then looked at the people more carefully. A man dressed in an expensive black suit looking over the roulette and poker table caught Sam's eye.

"I think I got one of Shephard's men," whispered Sam.

She seductively walked over to the man. She was dressed in a black dress that showed a lot cleavage and black heels with her hair up in a ponytail. Sam figured that a little cleavage never hurt anyone.

"Hello," she said flirtatiously, "I'm in a bit of trouble. You see I really want to place a number on the table but I don't have any chips. I was hoping you could help me out." The man turned towards her and noticed her twirling her hair around her finger.

"Come with me," he sternly said. Sam stopped twirling her hair and followed the man. "I guess this guy is all business," she thought, slightly insulted that he didn't notice the cleavage, "all that hard work gone to waste."

The man led her to the back of the casino into a small dark office overflowing with papers and empty beer bottles. A small desk stood in the center and if you looked carefully past all the garbage you could find the two chairs that sat at either sides of the table.

"Have a seat. One of our loaners should be in shortly," he said leaving the office.

Sam decided to stay standing. "No way I'm sitting in that rotten chair," she thought. She only had to wait a few moments before the door opened. A tall older white male walked in. It looked like he hadn't shaved in months and that his clothes hadn't been washed in days.

"Hello, I'm Martial," he said handing out his hand. Sam reluctantly shook his hand in return.

"Hi Martial, I'm Katelyn."

"I'm assuming you are here for cash. How much debt do you have," he asked.

"Well my debt is 50 thousand but I only need 25," she answered.

"Interesting logic you have there woman," he returned as he sat down in the chair. Sam was surprised that the chair didn't collapse underneath him because of his weight and the condition of the chair itself.

"I'm going to invest the money and I'll give you 75 in return for a place in the business," she said daringly. Martial took out a cigarrete pack from his pocket and removed a cigarette.

"You want one," he asked. Sam was completely disgusted at this point. What was she getting herself into? She thought these men would be a lot more sophisticated.

"No thank you, I don't smoke."

"75 in return? A little naïve don't you think? Meh, I don't care as long as you get it done or else you'll be in trouble," he said lighting the cigarette and placed in his mouth, "If you get the 75 you'll get a job here, but only if you get the 75, nothing less."

"That's a deal."

* * *

So this chapter was longer than my previous chapters and it helped move the plot line a little more. I hope you enjoyed it and there is more to come!


	12. Chapter 11: She's Protecting Her Family!

First of all thank you so much for the reviews! Here is the next chapter, a couple of different characters into the story. Stick around because the following chapter will be very interesting and suspenseful! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11: She's Protecting Her Family!

"Hey Patrick come on in," welcomed Alexis as Patrick walked into the penthouse.

"Hi Alexis, is Sam around?" asked Patrick.

"You mean you didn't come to see me?!" remarked Alexis, "I'm just joking; Sam is upstairs changing Danny right now. She should come down in a few minutes. You can have a seat; do you want anything to drink?"

Patrick went over to the couch and picked up a stray toy car and placed it into a blue bin.

"Um, no thank you. I just had breakfast at home," answered Patrick.

Alexis walked over to Patrick and picked up another stray car.

"Is something going on between you and your daughter?" she asked bluntly. Patrick was caught by surprise. "This is going to be awkward," he thought, "Sam, where are you?!"

"Um, I… I … I mean we're just friends," stuttered Patrick.

Alexis took off her glasses and gave him that famous lawyer look.

"Patrick, don't lie to me. I'm a lawyer, I work with pathetic liars all day, I can spot a lie when I see one," she remarked. Patrick shifted awkwardly on the couch trying to do something to relieve the stale air between him and Alexis. "Sam WHERE are you?!" he thought again, "I could really use you right now!"

"Alexis, Sam and I are really good friends that confide in each other," he said quietly.

"Patrick, be straight with me. I was really good friends with Ric, Sonny, Julian, and Shawn. And we certainly confided in each other," retorted Alexis. Patrick immediately covered his eyes. This has got to be the most awkward conversation he's ever had. Before he had to answer Alexis, Sam came down the stairs with Danny in her arms. "Thank you!" though Patrick grateful that the conversation between him and Alexis is over.

"Hi Patrick," said Sam.

"Hi Sam. Hello Danny," said Patrick as we walked over to him and picked him up from Sam's arms.

"Look Danny, who is that. Is it your friend Patrick?" cuddled Sam, "he's always happy to see you."

"I'm always happy to see him as well," said Patrick.

"Well isn't this all a love fest. I'm going to go and continue my paperwork upstairs so that you guys can have some privacy here," said Alexis collecting her papers.

"Wait Mom, you can stay at here. Patrick and I were just going to leave. We are going to go see Anna and hopefully she'll have some information on the Shephard Family and the undercover cop," said Sam.

"Alright, well I'm going to assume that I won't see you until tomorrow morning. Please be careful, Sam. I love you," she said as she hugged Sam and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll take Danny from you Patrick."

"I love you too Mom."

* * *

"Hi, my name is Samantha Morgan. I have a meeting with the police commissioner, Anna Devane," said Sam as she walked into the police department with Patrick.

"I'm sorry but you're going to have a wait a few minutes. Anna's meeting with the District Attorney is running a bit longer than expected," said the lieutenant.

"That's fine, we'll wait over there," said Patrick pointing at the chairs across the room.

"What happened between you and my mother before I came downstairs?" asked Sam as she sat down.

"Wh… what do you mean? We were just talking," hesitated Patrick.

"Thank you captain obvious. What were you talking about?" questioned Sam.

"We were talking about the weather. This was one of the coldest summers in the past 10 years. It's pretty interesting," explained Patrick.

"Patrick, did anyone ever tell you that you are the worst liar ever?" retorted Sam.

"Yeah your mother. She asked if there was anything going on between the two of us. I told her that we were just really good friends that could confide in one another, but obviously she didn't believe me. I was so thankful that you came down when you did. I was so ready to just run out of your penthouse," responded Patrick. Sam couldn't help but just laugh. She knew her mother would catch on and ask about it once she spotted Patrick and her spending an awful lot of time together.

"Don't take it personally. She's looking out for me because she doesn't want me to be hurt again. I have the tendency to completely fall apart when I have a break-up," explained Sam.

"You didn't crash and burn when you broke up with Silas, at least from what I saw," remarked Patrick.

"The relationship between Silas and I was different. I thought it was love but Silas was just there to fill a void. I needed someone to comfort me. Someone to lean on. I kept making excuses for his lies because he filled that void for me. It was only when Nina came into the picture that I realized the true nature of my relationship with Silas," explained Sam, "I was hurt when I broke up with him because my void would present itself again but I didn't love him. That's why I didn't crash and burn."

"It's funny, that's exactly the way I felt about Britt. Robin 'died' and I felt empty. I needed someone and apparently I was desperate enough to choose Britt," Patrick said and then he turned towards the interrogation room, "Anna is here."

Anna walked out of the interrogation room and moved towards Patrick and Sam.

"Hi guys, sorry I ran a little late," she apologized. Patrick stood up and gave his still mother-in law a hug.

"It's ok. We all know how demanding Baldwin can be," joked Patrick.

"Don't tell me twice. Come follow me, we'll go into my office instead of that stinky interrogation room," directed Anna. Sam and Patrick agreed and followed Anna to her office and sat in the chairs across from Anna.

"So, tell me, what has gotten you two in my office?" asked Anna, "I'd assume it's something about the lovely shootout at Kelly's and why you two left town."

"Yes, Patrick and I left town to meet up with an organization known as the Cortez Family. They have a past relationship with my adopted father and basically said that because of him I owe them or else they'll hurt my family. They want me to find evidence that would put the main boss of the Shephard Family away for life," explained Sam in the shortest and quickest way possible, "I know that there was an undercover cop that held an investigation on the Shephard Family and I was hoping you could give me access to the file."

Anna was shocked. This was certainly not was she was expecting to hear. She had heard about the Shephard family and she knew that they had a reputation.

"Sam, those are extremely dangerous men. I don't think it's a good idea to be infiltrating their business. They are well known around the police world that they are the one organization that you have to ignore and let them do their business. I pretty sure they use biological warfare to accomplish their 'tasks'. I don't want you getting hurt," said Anna, deeply concerned for Sam's situation, "can't we just deal with the Cortez Family instead. If we eliminate them, which will probably be a lot easier and then we don't have to go after the Shephard Family."

"I've thought about that idea but it's just too risky. There is always that chance that our plan doesn't work out and then they'll go after my family and any other family that's involved. I want to put my family at minimal risk as possible. My life is my life and I don't want my consequences or my past family's life affecting my current family," explained Sam.

"Alright, you have a point; however, I still don't think this is a good idea. If you don't me asking, what is the plan?" asked Anna.

"Well, I'm going undercover as a woman called Katelyn. I made a deal with a loaner that works for the company saying that if I loan 25 thousand dollars I'll be able to return 75 thousand dollars the next day through investment and deals I'll have a job. I'm probably going to use Sonny's men as undercover clients so that I can further my place in the company. Patrick will be in the car most of the time listening to me and writing down important notes from the conversations I have. Eventually I'll get a position in the company that'll allow me to find incriminating evidence," explained Sam.

Anna took out a note pad and wrote down important details about the plan. "I think that's the best possible plan any one could have. I want every single one your 'clients' to be wired and protected. More importantly, I want you both to be armed at all times. We don't know much about these guys so I want you two to be prepared for every possible situation," said Anna, "the file of the police officer's undercover operation is in the file room at the back of the building. You can have the file until you are done with the investigation. I want you guys to have the most information about these people before you dive head first into it."

Sam and Patrick stood up from their chairs and Sam went up and shook Anna's hand. "Thank you so much, Anna," said Sam.

"It's my pleasure. I want frequent updates and Sam, if you need any help or any advice, I used to be a secret agent," said Anna.

* * *

Sam and Patrick walked into Kelly's and took a seat at a table. It didn't take long for Kelly's to be up and running again and it looked as if nothing had ever happened.

"Wow, they cleaned up the place really nicely," noticed Patrick. "Yeah, I agree. Looks like guns never stepped foot in here."

"Do you want to look at the file?" asked Sam as she took out the manila folder from her bag. Patrick nodded and then saw Shawn walk up to them.

"Hello guys, what can I get you two?" he asked with a notepad in hand.

"I think we'll just stick with some coffee for now," ordered Patrick.

"Alright two coffees coming your way," said Shawn as he put his notepad away and walked back to the kitchen. Sam opened the file and starting reading the information.

"Well, it's basically a small biography on every employee the officer met. The officer's name was Thomas Cartmen and his alias was Charlie McRyan. Here's a picture of him," informed Sam as she handed the picture over to Patrick.

The picture showed a man with sharp features and a police uniform on. He had a sharp nose, prominent cheekbones, blue eyes and a small scar under his left eye. He had short brown hair and was lean; almost the same body type as Patrick but seemed to be shorter.

"He was 33 at the start of the operation with no spouse or children. He was doing very well with the operation, gaining a lot of ground in the company until he reached contact to an administrator who worked alongside the 'big boss'. He went on a job and then the police lost contact with him. A week later the two bodies were found in the FBI office and the court house," read Sam.

"Well there is a lot of information in the file, a lot of information on each employee which could be useful for when you meet up with some employees. Although, I'm not sure if there will be any of the same employees still there considering it was 20 years ago," said Patrick.

"Yeah I agree, there is a lot of information but I still we are going in blindly," said Sam.

Julian walked into the diner and Patrick knew that this was probably not going to end well.

"Hey Sam, how are you?" asked Julian. Sam looked up from her file and rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here," she returned.

"Sam, I'm pretty sure that this is a public place where I'm allowed to buy a sandwich," answered Julian, "what's in that folder you've got there, another case?"

Sam tried to hide the folder away before Julian could see. "It's none of your business," snarled Sam. Patrick stood up from his chair walked over to Julian.

"Julian, I don't think this a good time. Sam and I are just having our breakfast peacefully. Why don't you just get your sandwich and leave?" said Patrick.

"Patrick, stay out of this. Is this a folder on the Shephard Family. Sam, what the hell are you running an investigation on them? They are some of the most dangerous men in the business," said Julian, walking past Patrick.

"Because I'm protecting my family," said Sam bluntly.

"You cannot go after these guys, you'll wind up killed. I forbid you to even get close to those guys," yelled Julian pointing a finger at Sam. Sam was immediately outraged and stood out of her chair.

"Where do you get the authority to tell me what to do!" yelled Sam. Patrick got in between Sam and Julian making sure it doesn't break out into a physical fight.

"I am your father Sam!" shouted Julian. Now it was Patrick's turn to get angry at Julian.

"You are not her father! A father cares about his child and does everything possible to protect him or her! They certainly don't just purposely not store stem cells for his grandchild because he wants to save his own ass! She's protecting her family! You might want to take some lessons on the subject! Now I highly recommend you leave before this gets physical," yelled Patrick.

Julian took a step back in disbelief. "Sam, Sonny will kill me if I donate my stem cells," said Julian quietly.

"That is bull, Julian, and you know it. Sonny is a lot smarter than you think," said Sam.

Julian slowly turned around and walked out of the diner without a sandwich in hand.

* * *

Alright so that was another longer chapter. The next update date will be on my profile so be sure to check it out if you want to know when the next chapter will be up (I might post prior to the date, it's basically a deadline for me). The next chapter will certainly be longer and more exciting!


	13. Chapter 12: In Trouble

Here is the big chapter! Special shootout to Tiana: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm happy your enjoying the story!

I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!

The next update date will be posted on my profile.

(Don't any characters except the obvious Shephard and Cortez families)

* * *

Chapter 12: In Trouble

It's been three weeks since Sam got her job in the Shephard Family as "Katelyn." Her job was to essentially find clients and make sure they paid their debts which was pretty easy considering Sam was using Sonny's men as clients. She averaged twice the amount of money than any other worker at the office but yet she still wasn't getting anywhere within the company. She also wasn't able to gain any information on any of the workers because they never ever spoke to anyone but their clients. It was becoming very frustrating for Sam.

Sam went to Anna several times to give updates but mostly too get some advice on how to obtain any information. Anna said the same thing every time: "just be patient Sam."

Patrick got his job at Mercy Hospital and became the chief surgeon. He was usually with Sam during the undercover operations but when he was on call, Sonny or one of his men would be in the car listening in on the conversations, even though there weren't really any conversations. Tonight Patrick was on call and Sonny had a big meeting with his men so Sam was going in solo. Sonny had told her to take the night off because she had been working every night since she got the job but Sam thought that if she were take a day off now it would lose all the little reputation she had in the job.

Sam wasn't very worried about going in alone because to be honest she just sat at a desk most of the time. Also, she had a gun and a knife on her at all times and if need be she had Sonny and Patrick on speed dial.

She walked to the back entrance of the casino and went through the long dark corridors to her office. It was a rather small office; one might even say it was a closet. There was enough room for two folding chairs and a makeshift desk which was essentially books stacked on one another.

Sam noticed that her light was on which meant that someone had been in her office. She was a bit alarmed but didn't think much of it because one of the men might have been looking for a book that belonged to her "desk". She sat down on her metal folding chair and placed down her bag next to her. Sam took out her calculator and her working book and then a tall man walked into her office.

It was a man that Sam had certainly never seen before. He was dressed almost to perfection. He had on a fitted black suit with a blue-collared shirt and striped tie. There was a Rolex watch on his wrist and his shoes looked like they had cost him at least 600 dollars. "Well he certainly doesn't look like he is in debt," thought Sam.

"Can I help you with anything?" asked Sam politely. The man walked closer towards her and took his handkerchief out of the little pocket. Sam started worrying; what was this man doing here?

"Hello Sam," he said before grasping Sam and placing the handkerchief over her mouth. She immediately recognized the smell on the napkin: chloroform. Sam struggled against his grip but he overpowered her. Her vision started getting fuzzy and before she lost consciousness she saw three more men walk into the small office. This time the men were ones that Sam recognized. They were the men that she had worked alongside these past three weeks. They were waiting for the day that she wouldn't have anyone behind her just like she had been waiting for a break in the case. Sam took one last breath before passing out in the man's arms.

* * *

Patrick walked out of his patient's room and went to his office. It was 2:30 A.M. and he was worried about Sam. He knew that even when Sonny told her not to go she would still go which is why he made an agreement with her. She would take a break around 2:00 A.M and call him and tell him that she was perfectly fine. It had been a half hour now and Patrick began to think that everything was not completely fine.

Patrick and Sam continued to go on small dates whenever they had time in the last 3 nights. Most of the dates were just watching movies at Patrick's house and ordering in lunch. They had their romantic times with kisses and make-out sessions and then they had their fun moments that included teasing each other about the stupidest things. Patrick had never felt at ease with anyone like he had with Sam before. She was the most real and down to earth person that Patrick had ever met and he felt like he could discuss anything with her without having to worry about being judged.

They made their relationship official when they finally told Alexis after her relentless nagging. She was extremely excited and it seemed it was the only thing she could think about even though it wasn't her relationship. Sam had to even tell her mom at one point to back off which is why most of the movies were watched at Patrick's house instead of Sam's penthouse. Sam was counting down the days until her mother would move out. She loved her mom but she overstepped often.

Patrick sat down at his desk and picked up the phone. He dialed a number that had become very familiar to him in the past few weeks.

Patrick: Hey Sonny, it's me Patrick.

Sonny: Patrick, why are you calling at this hour? Is everything alright?

Patrick: I'm know, I'm sorry for calling so late but I'm worried about Sam.

Sonny: Why are you worried about Sam? Isn't she supposed to be at home?

Patrick: No, she's not at home. She went undercover because she didn't want to compromise the case and the little progress she had been making. We agreed that she would call me at 2 so that I would know that she was alright.

Sonny: She did what! Alright, meet me at my office.

Patrick: I'll meet you there in a half hour. I'll tell the chief of staff that I'm in emergency and I'll get there as fast as I can.

Patrick hung up the phone was more distressed after the call than before it. He was hoping the Sonny would have said that maybe Sam was just busy with a client but hearing Sonny's voice, Patrick knew that Sam could be in trouble.

He stood up, got his jacket and walked out of the office as quick as he possibly could while calling the chief of staff to say that he needed to be covered for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Patrick, come on in," said Sonny as he opened the door for Patrick.

"Thank you," said Patrick when he walked inside, "what do you suggest we do?"

"Has she called you yet?" asked Sonny. Patrick checked his phone one more time and shook his head.

"Then she's probably in trouble. What was she thinking going in there alone? We're going to storm the casino with our men," explained Sonny, "Do you know the building plan?"

"Yeah, Sam and I discussed the building one night just in case I needed to go in and help," answered Patrick.

Sonny went behind his desk and took out his pistol and placed it in his holster. "I'm going to need you stay here. I don't want you to get involved in the possible shootout," ordered Sonny.

Patrick immediately shook his head in disagreement. "Sonny, no offense but I'm going with you guys. I care way too much about Sam to not be there for her," said Patrick.

"I don't want you a part of this!" yelled Sonny at Patrick.

"Like it or not but I've been investigation longer than you have. I know a lot more about his case than you or any other does. I have to be there for her!" yelled Patrick in return. Sonny took a deep breath and sighed.

"Fine you can go with, but you are staying in the car and you are going to listen and give directions to us through the mics. Do you know how to use a hand gun just in case?" asked Sonny.

"Yeah, Sam taught me in the beginning of this whole undercover operation. I always kept a glock in the glove box of the car," answered Patrick.

"Alright then let's go!"

* * *

Sonny quietly opened the back door of the casino and all six of his men entered before he finally closed the door and followed them. They walked silently through the long narrow halls until they reached the first door and opened it. It was just a storage closet so they kept walking until they saw the first office which was right across another office. Two of Sonny's men sneaked into each of the offices and didn't find anything significant. In fact, the only thing they did find were two folding chairs. They kept walking quietly towards the next office and again they didn't find anything of significance. It was almost as if nobody had ever been here. The Shephard Family abandoned the place in a matter of hours.

Sonny and his men didn't find anything till the last and final office. "Boss we found a note," said one of the men. Sonny walked in and picked up the note. He read it and got the biggest pit in his stomach. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be.

_Dear family and friends of Sam Morgan,_

_We have her and you are too late._

_Good Luck._

_Love,_

_The Shephard Family_

Patrick stayed in the car the whole time and heard the audio of the men. "Sonny, what did the note say? Sonny! Just tell me! Sonny are you still there!?" he yelled into his microphone.

* * *

Sam slowly started to stir out of her unconscious state. She had a splitting headache and was very confused. She tied to move her hands to her head but her hands were held down. Sam let her eyes adjust to the one light above her head before opening them completely. She looked down and saw her hands bound to the arms of the chair with metal chains. Her legs weren't much different. There was no way she going to escape metal chains. Ropes were never a problem with her considering her many experiences but chains were a different story. She couldn't even move her wrist an inch, much less try to maneuver her fingers to attempt to pick the lock. There wasn't even a visible lock that Sam could see.

It took Sam a few minutes to realize how she had gotten here. The only thing she could remember was the man coming into her office and chloroforming her.

Sam got a very uneasy feeling in her body. The Shephard Family just kidnapped her and nobody has ever successfully escaped the wrath of the family.

She was scared.

* * *

What's going to happen to Sam? Will she survive? Find out in the next chapter!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you again for the reviews.


	14. Chapter 13: Let Me Go!

So this is my largest update to date, more than 4,000 words! Thank you for all the reviews and you can review about anything if you want. If you want you can even tell me how much you hate this haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update and the next update should be on it's way soon.

(Don't any characters from gh except for the obvious)

* * *

Chapter 13: Let Me Go!

Alexis shot awake from the sound of her phone ringing. She checked her alarm clock and saw that it was 3:30 A.M. in the morning.

"Who is calling me at this hour?" she asked annoyed. She reached over to the cellphone and recognized the number.

Alexis: Patrick, is everything alright? Do you realize its 3:30?

Patrick: I'm sorry but Sam is missing!

Alexis: Wait! What?! What do you mean missing? What happened?

Patrick: She went to the casino without assistance tonight. Sonny and I told her to take the night off but she insisted on going because she didn't want to compromise the operation. I knew she wasn't going to listen so I instead made a deal with her and she said she would call at 2:00 to say that she was fine. She never called. I guess they saw that she was unmarked and took advantage of the situation.

Alexis: Omg, you have got to be kidding me. Patrick, meet me at the police precinct!

Alexis hung up on the phone and jumped out of the bed. She was certainly awake now. She quickly slopped on some clothes, ran down the stairs, took the car keys and rushed out the door. How did her daughter always end up in these situations?

"Anna, wait!" yelled Alexis as she ran into the precinct.

"Alexis, hey, Patrick called me and filled me in on the situation. I already have Dante and Nathan on the case," said Anna.

"Ok, tell me where they are. Anna, I need to talk to them please!" demanded Alexis. Anna tried to control the frantic Alexis by leading her to a chair.

"Alexis, take a seat please you're not good to anyone right now. The two detectives are hard at work trying to find out who took Sam and where she is," said Anna as she sat across from Alexis. Alexis got even more frustrated by Anna's response.

"Anna, we already know who took Sam, we need people going out there and trying to find her!" said Alexis unreasonably. Anna forgave Alexis knowing that she is worried sick about her oldest daughter.

"We would love nothing more than have our officers go out there and find Sam but we don't even know where to start. We can't just search all of Port Charles and beyond, then we would never find her. I know you are worried and scared but we will find her and bring her back home safe," comforted Anna.

Dante walked out of the interrogation office and headed towards Anna.

"Anna, one of our crime scene investigators found a laptop that was left behind accidently. They are going to bring it over and I'm going to have one of our computer geniuses work on it. We should get a considerable amount of information on there. Also, Nathan had a theory that maybe not all the employees that worked at that office in the casino knows what has happened so we are going to have 2 men stationed in the office and arrest anyone that walks in. We'll interrogate them for any information on any additional hideouts," informed Dante.

"Thank you so much Dante," said Anna. Anna turned back to Alexis and found her hyperventilating. She took a non-latex glove and gave it to Alexis. Alexis gladly grabbed it and took deep breaths in the glove.

"Alexis, you need to calm down and catch your breath. We are going to find Sam. I promise," said Anna. Dante walked back to the interrogation room and got back to work.

"Are there any leads?" asked Alexis.

"We will have some soon. Once the laptop comes in, which should take around a half hour and we get it processed which will probably take longer, we will have some clues. We are going to look for common meeting places. I don't think they would bring her to a place that they are uncomfortable with. They want the upper hand and the familiar they are with the setting the better," informed Anna.

* * *

Sam heard the door creak behind her and she quickly closed her eyes and went limp. She didn't want them to know that she was conscious. Two men walked into the room and went to stand in front of Sam.

"Get me a chair," ordered one of the men. "Sam, darling, we know you are awake so don't bother faking."

Sam took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She instantly recognized the man that was grabbing the chair. He was the man who had chloroformed her. The other man was new. He had a perfectly trimmed beard and had on an expensive looking suit and hat. He was not as tall as the guy who had chloroformed and he was very muscular though not as much as Jason was.

"We know how long the effects of chloroform last and we have tiny little cameras in the corners of this rather big room," he said pointing towards the small cameras. It was only then that she realized that there were cameras in the room. She internally kicked herself. How could she have missed something as essential as cameras?

"Just let me go. I have a son at home who needs me and I promise I won't cause any trouble," she pleaded.

The man sat down in the chair while the other man walked out of the room. It was just Sam and one other man in the room now.

"Let's start with some introductions shall we. My name is Lydell Shephard. Most people call me by my surname, Shephard. I am the head of this grand old family business. Your name is obviously Samantha Morgan, formally known as Samantha McCall. Your parents are Alexis Davis and Julian Jerome. You have a son, Daniel Edward Morgan or Danny for short. You already know all of this so I won't bother to continue. Let's begin. Who hired you?" asked Shephard.

"What do you mean who hired me," asked Sam avoiding eye contact with Shephard.

"I apologize Sam. I need to brush up on my interrogation skills. Usually I have one of my many talented men do this sorts of tasks but you are a very special case. I'm going to try again. Nobody just decides to head an investigation on this company except when there is a price involved. Somebody must have had hired you. Who hired you?" Shephard asked for the second time. He was extremely passive in his approach and Sam wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Why am I a 'special case'?" asked Sam trying to avoid Shpehard's question. Shephard, however, didn't seem bothered or frustrated by Sam's avoidance of the question. The only person who was getting frustrated was Sam, but then again, she was the only one who was chained to the cold metal chair. The control she could take over was the conversation but with his passive approach it was nearly impossible.

"Well, you are the first person to run an undercover operation on us since the feds did back in the 90's. I want to know who would be so stupid enough to do such a thing like that again. But maybe it wasn't such a stupid thing. I wouldn't know because I don't understand the circumstances of the idea of starting an investigation on us. The only way I know is if you tell me. Who hired you?" he asked for the third time, still very passive about his approach.

"So you know my name, my parents, and my son. You probably know about my past life, my relationships and my late husband. I'm pretty sure you people have the technology to know who hired me so why even bother asking me?" asked Sam harshly. Shephard got out of his chair, turned his chair around 180 degrees, set it back down closer to Sam and sat back down.

"Because the truth is always so much better when told by the actual person. You see, your family and stuff like that are all set in stone while events aren't always so factual," he explained. Sam was confused.

"People can lie as well," remarked Sam.

"Yes but sometimes the best truths come from lies," explained Shephard. Sam was completely lost at this point and was getting very irritable with the whole philosophic talk. "You see, when people lie they reveal an insecurity and a fear. It uncovers parts of the hidden personality. The trick is to try and find when the person is lying. Once you know then you'll know when the person lies every single time. People only lie in one method because they think that they look like they are saying the truth. Why change how you lie if it looks like you're telling the truth."

"What is with all this philosophical junk? I thought you were interrogating me," attacked Sam.

"O I'm sorry Sam, I thought we were just having a simple, casual intellectual conversation," said Shephard. Sam rolled her eyes; she couldn't believe what this guy was doing.

"You have got to be kidding me. Can't you see I'm chained to this stupid chair in this stupid room and to top it all off I'm being interrogated by the stupidest person ever!" yelled Sam pulling against the restraints to make a point to Shephard. "I don't think any of this is a casual conversation!"

"Yes, well I can see that you are a little tied up right now haha. You have yet to answer my first question though. If we are going to do this interrogation I'm going to need some answers," he demanded passively.

"I'm not going to answer any of your stupid questions. Either let me go or just kill me now!"

"Alright then I can see you are a little frustrated so I'll let you be by yourself for a bit. You can have some peace and then I'll come back and start this all over again," said Shephard as he stood up, placed his chair in the corner and walked out leaving the single light on.

Sam thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get some rest. It was probably going to be one of her only times to get some shut-eye and she wanted to be as strong as she possibly could be because she had no idea what the men were capable of doing.

She closed her eyes but couldn't fall asleep. It was impossible. The combination of the cold metal chains, the light that buzzed right above her head, the cold room and the situation itself made it absolutely impossible. Sam was scared and every time she closed her eyes the worst thoughts would pop up into her head.

* * *

Julian walked into the precinct clearly distraught. He looked around to find a police officer but all the officers were either busy or running from one place to another. He found someone eventually but it wasn't a police officer; it was Alexis.

"Alexis, what happened? Where is she?" asked Julian frantically. Alexis looked up from the ground and Julian could see the pain and sadness in her eyes. She was scared and afraid. Julian became more worried, is she dead?

'How do you know she's missing? Who called you?" asked Alexis curiously.

"Patrick called me. He knows that Sam and I aren't on good terms but he thought that the more men looking for Sam the better. So now we have the police department looking for Sam as well as my men and I'm assuming Sonny's men. At least that's one thing that we can do together. We will find her Alexis, but I need information so that my men can know where to look?" asked Julian still frantic but trying to act a little more confident to give Alexis some comfort.

"The Shephard Family took her. She was doing an undercover operation on them," explained Alexis. Julian was in shock. In the back of his mind he knew it could possibly have been those men but he refused to believe it because that meant that Sam was probably never going to get out. "The police commissioner put Dante and Nathan on the case and so now I'm waiting here for some information from either of them," Alexis continued. Julian took out his phone and dialed a number.

"I'm sorry Alexis but I have to call my men real quick and give them an update. One of my men was a former FBI investigator so he should give us some leads," said Julian and then the person on the other side of the line answered, "Hey Mike, its Julian. The Shephard Family took Sam. I want you to get all our men investigating this and to work as hard as they can to get Sam home….. Thank you Mike, and I want quick updates, I don't care what it is, I want updates…. We are working with the Corinthos crime family and the PCPD so we are going to share updates; that's why I'm asking for updates…. Alright, bye," said Julian on the phone and then he turned back to Alexis.

"She told me about them but she didn't give me much information on why she was running an investigation on them," noted Julian. Alexis was surprised that Sam would have ever told Julian about the investigation given the relationship they both had to each other.

"When did she tell you? Sam isn't the kind of person to tell those kinds of secretive information to people she's not very fond of," asked Alexis.

"She didn't really tell me, it's more like I saw her at Kelly's with Patrick discussing the case together. I told her everything about how dangerous those guys are and that she isn't allowed to go and run an operation against them. She then got very mad at me saying that I couldn't go and control her life and then Patrick ganged up me," explained Julian.

"I'm surprised she didn't bite your head off or at the least punch you. Rule number one about Sam: Don't ever tell her what to do. She grew up depending solely on her own and no one else. She'll take advice but nothing more. She lives off her independence," said Alexis.

"It sounds like you speak from experience," noted Julian.

"You are right, I do speak from experience. Believe it or not but Sam and I weren't always on good terms. In fact, she used to hate me. We only found out that we were mother daughter when she was a fully grown adult. She grew up to be a con woman and marry men for money. She was involved with two mobsters and so, me being the perfect lawyer and mother, wanted to 'save her' and get her out of the whole mob life and scamming world. I had her move into my house, had her get her GED, got her new clothes and worst of all: I pushed Sam and Jason apart. I set my standards extremely high, standards that no human could ever reach so Sam always felt like a failure. Her self-esteem, even though it was never high to begin with, sank like the Titanic. She returned the favor by sleeping with my husband at the time, which happened to be Ric," explained Alexis.

"Wow, that's a lot. I'll remember to not tell Sam what to do. The good thing is that she is extremely independent which means she is very resourceful and can find a way to escape," said Julian trying to comfort Alexis.

"I know that she is strong, independent, and resourceful but she is my daughter and she is in the hands of some of the most dangerous people out there!" exclaimed Alexis as she burst into tears. Julian hugged Alexis and rubbed her back trying to give her some sort of comfort.

"Hey hey hey, Alexis. Why don't we get a cup of coffee? You have been up all night and something tells me you won't sleep until we find Sam alive," offered Julian. Alexis nodded and got up from the chair and walked to the kitchen with Julian right next to her.

"You'd swear she has a magnet to kidnappers. The amount of times she's been kidnapped is more than anyone should be exposed to," said Alexis, laughing a little bit in her sadness.

"What do you mean? I know that Sam was kidnapped once before by Franco during her honeymoon but how she's been kidnapped more than that?" asked Julian who was surprised by this new finding of his daughter.

"Sam has been kidnapped a million times. First it was Sonny and then Manny who used Sam to get to Jason. Then it was a crazy psychopath called Jerry Jacks who must have kidnapped her at least 3 times. No wait a serial killer, Diego Alcazar, kidnapped her before Jerry. And then finally it was Franco who kidnapped her twice. I'm pretty sure I missed a few," explained Alexis. Julian was stunned to say the least.

"Alexis, she survived each and every single kidnapping. What makes you think she won't get out of this one?" asked Julian trying to add to Alexis almost non-existent confidence.

"Because now it's an organization that kidnapped her. Not just one man."

* * *

Sam heard the men walk into the room and saw Shephard grab a chair and place it in front of her, just like he had not too long before.

"Hello again Sam. I haven't seen you in two hours. I hope that was enough time for you to maybe get some rest or just think," said Shephard, while the other men left the room.

"I'm going to remind you again. I am shackled to an uncomfortable chair. I cannot rest or think about anything but trying to figure a way out of here or my family," blurted Sam, clearly more irritable than before.

"I'm sorry Sam. Here let me call in the boys again. Maybe they can find you a more comfortable chair," offered Shephard. He stood up, walked to the door and asked the men to bring him a more comfortable chair. A few minutes they came back with a different chair.

"This looks to be a more comfortable chair Sir, but there aren't any armrests on it," noted one of the men. Shephard took the chair and placed it in the room.

"That is fine; we'll just chain her hands behind the chair. I'm going to you need your help though," said Shephard. Two men walked into the room and got to work on Sam.

They first made sure to shackle her feet together before unshackling her feet from the chair. The men then released Sam's hand but quickly placed her arms behind her back before she could even think of making a move. They removed the cold chair and set the new chair in its place and chained Sam into the chair with her hands behind the chair back.

It was even more uncomfortable with the new chair. Yes it wasn't as cold anymore but her arms were behind her and it made her shoulders ache, perhaps the moving from chairs made Sam feel the most uncomfortable. They were always one step ahead of her and she had no chance of making a move on any of the men.

"I hope that chair is much better. Now let's get back to this interview. Why did you choose to found out more about us?" he asked. Sam noted the change of words: interrogation to interview. Even the question was different: Who hired you? to Why did you choose…?

"I didn't choose to do anything. I didn't choose to go after you and I certainly didn't choose to get kidnapped," stated Sam.

"You see that is where you are wrong Sam. Everybody has a choice. Everybody can do whatever they set their mind too," said Shephard.

"Not if someone has a gun pointed at your son's head," stated Sam sharply.

"Everybody has a choice, but each choice has its own consequence. You chose to pursue a different persona and seek information from us. Now I'm asking, why?" Shephard said.

"You can ask that question a million different ways but I'm never going to answer it," said Sam. Sam mustered ever single bit of strength to remain neutral towards the question and never answer it. The last thing she wanted was for them to go after the Cortez Family and then having the Cortez Family hurt her family in revenge. She couldn't even bear the thought of someone hurting even a hair on his head.

"Are you scared to reveal the answer or are you just too stubborn and don't want to participate?" asked Shephard inching closer to Sam till he was practically in her face. Sam took this opportunity to spit in his face and she felt quite proud of herself for doing so.

"I'm sorry for getting into your personal space. I hate it when people step into my bubble so I shouldn't have done it to you," apologized Shephard which made Sam even more frustrated.

"Let me ask you a different question then. Who else was working with you?"

"Wow, you are just an idiot. If I didn't answer your first question about who hired about me, what in your stupid little brain thought it would be a good idea to ask the question of who was working with me. Did you really think I would answer that?" stated Sam bluntly.

"I apologize again. Like I said before, I have to brush up on my interviewing skills. Why don't I go and look up some interviewing methods. Do you want to use the bathroom first?" he asked politely.

"Yes," said Sam immediately. There was no way she was giving up an opportunity to at least make an attempt to escape.

Shephard stood up and walked to the door and had two men come inside.

"Mrs. Morgan here would like to use the lavatories," said Shephard. Sam wondered why he said Mrs. Morgan to his associates instead of just Sam.

The men unshackled her legs from the chair first. Her legs were still shackled together from the previous time she got up. Next were her arms which were then put in front of her. It was only now Sam noticed that no one was carrying a gun or any sort of weapon for that matter. But this was a violent business, thought Sam.

Within 5 minutes she went to the bathroom and set back into the chair. Once again there was no way that she could have escaped. They had control over the entire time and it was becoming very frustrating for Sam. Every time she had been kidnapped there were always ways of escaping but here there were absolutely none.

She was left alone again in the big cold empty room with the buzzing light above chained to the not-so cold chair.

* * *

So yes that was a long update. I hope you enjoyed it though and thanks for reading! The next chapter should be pretty revealing about the two families ;)


	15. Chapter 14: Mind Games

So here is the next update! Thank you again for all the reviews! Enjoy the chapter!

(Don't own anything besides the obvious)

* * *

Chapter 14: Mind Games

"Nathan, tell me you got something," said Dante as he saw Nathan walk into the interrogation room.

"Well, they finished analyzing the laptop. We got some good things off of it but not in the way you'd think," said Nathan with a laptop in his hands.

"What do you mean? Just get too the chase. The faster we find where Sam is being held the faster we get her alive," said Dante trying to hurry Nathan.

Truth was that Dante knew that Sam was important to many people in Port Charles. The proof was in the lobby of the precinct. Half of all the residents in Port Charles were there: Alexis, Patrick, Molly, Silas, Sonny, etc. The fact that Sonny and Julian were working together was a testament to how much influence Sam has. He certainly wasn't going to let any of those people down. This could be the end of the mob war between the Jeromes and the Corinthos'.

"The only significant thing we found here was an entire database with all the information of every single employee, at least we think every employee, that are currently working for the company," said Nathan as he placed the laptop on the table and turned it on.

"Alright, that can be useful. We can see what they know about Sam and we can try and track down employees with some power in the company but still will to give us some information," noted Dante. "Her name should be listed under Samantha Morgan because that's what it had said on the note we found at the casino."

"I'm going to get on that. It might take a while to go through the database and find Sam but I'll call you when I'm done," said Nathan as he sat down and got to work.

"Alright good. I'm going to go interrogate a guy they found at the casino, hopefully he's willing to give us some information," said Dante as he walked out of the interrogation room.

He was immediately swarmed by all of Sam's loved ones: Alexis, Silas, Sonny and Patrick. They were all yelling at Dante asking about Sam and whether they had made a break in the case. "Guys, guys, guys STOP! I have nothing for you yet. I promise I'll tell you everything once I actually know something. Nathan is working on the laptop and I'm going to interrogate an employee in interrogation room 3," said Dante as he pushed his way through the crowd and walked into the interrogation room.

* * *

Silas and Patrick turned towards each other once Dante was gone.

"What the hell were you thinking putting Sam in harm's way," yelled Silas accusing Patrick. Patrick took a step back; surprised that he would accuse him.

"Silas, I didn't cause Sam to get kidnapped. I didn't force her to go into harm's way. She did it on her own will," said Patrick, hurt that anyone could even accuse him of such a thing.

"The hell with that. You are lying through your teeth just like when you said you didn't kill Rafe. You killed him and you smiled while you did it!" screamed Silas.

Alexis and Sonny had pull Silas away before he tore Patrick apart in the middle of the police department.

"Calm down! Nobody wants to see Sam hurt! Silas you need to stop blaming everyone for your mistakes and your problems. Need I remind you that you moved on with Nina?" yelled Alexis.

"Silas, I think you should go home. I'll have someone call you when there are updates," said Sonny as he pointed Silas to the exit.

* * *

Dante sat down across from the person of interested and opened the file on the desk.

"Do you know why you were brought in?" asked Dante casually.

"I'm assuming it has something to do with the business I work with. Look I'll be completely cooperative as long as you know that you didn't get the information from me or else I'll be finished," he responded.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I'll make sure that no one finds out that you were the one who gave us the information. We are looking for a woman who was working undercover but disappeared last night. I'll start by asking why you are willing to be compliant?" started Dante.

"I've seen a lot of people hurt in this company. The only reason why I'm working for them is because I'm being blackmailed. I want someone to stop these guys," he answered.

"Alright then Mr. Louis Gordon. We were hoping you have some information on trying to find a person taken by the company?" asked Dante. Louis laughed at the question.

"No offense but why did you even send in an undercover. You won't find her. Many have tried but it never works," he responded. "What was her name? I might know her."

"Her alias was Katelyn. This is her picture," answered Dante. He took out a picture of Sam from the file and handed it to Louis.

"I remember her. Who wouldn't? I mean she's the hottest babe we've seen walk into the casino in a long time. She was an amazing employee. Got us more business than 3 guys combined," he said. "Sad to see her go. I hope you find her but the odds are you won't. You'll have two weeks tops."

"She's not gone yet," remarked Dante.

"Well, to be honest, I don't have anything more to tell you. I tried to keep my distance from the operations as much as possible. Good luck!"

* * *

Sam continued to sit and stare at the white walls in front of her. There weren't any windows so she couldn't tell the time of day. The only thing she could possibly do was think and think she did. All these past few months she never had a second to breathe and now here she is, locked to a chair in a blank room with nothing to do but ponder her thoughts.

She thought about Rafe and his short life. He never had a life. As a child he was always on the run, saw his mother murdered right in front of him and then lost his life to drugs. Sam knew that Molly felt guilty about not advancing her relationship with Rafe. Sam felt guilty for not protecting him more. They had a bond that no one had and she let him down. All he needed was someone who cared for him and someone who guided him through life's challenges.

Silas had also let Rafe down. He had practically forgotten about Rafe when he was living in his apartment. Silas kept giving him money with no questions asked and never had time to have a chat with him. Rafe felt alone in the apartment.

Silas had actually let Sam down as well. "Or did I let myself down," thought Sam. "I was too naïve when Nina entered the picture. I left myself down because I thought I loved Silas enough for us to last. I left myself open to get hurt."

Sam felt her eyes become moist. She gave up everything for Silas: trusted her son with Silas and took off her wedding ring for him. He repaid her by kissing Nina. "But that's what they are supposed to. Spouses are supposed to show affection to one another. Having a mistress was not in the marriage contract; I wasn't supposed to be in the picture," though Sam and she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She tried to wipe the tear away but was stopped by the shackles. She was brought back to reality in an instant, her reality that had no distant future. So many people were probably searching for her, knowing her possible fate. Patrick was looking for her.

He must be feeling so guilty now knowing that she went into the casino alone without backup. She was too stubborn for him and insisted that she go. She didn't want to compromise all the hard work they had put into the operation. How ironic!

She missed him. She missed Patrick. She wanted him. She was able to talk to him and not worry about hurting anyone's feelings unlike with Silas. She could rely on Patrick and Danny loved him. It was almost as if Danny was Patrick's son. There were countless amount of times she caught them playing with cars and they play until Sam pried them apart because Danny needed to go to sleep.

Tears began streaming down Sam's face. He could not bear the thought of possibly never seeing her family and friends again. She was never able to say goodbye to anyone she loved. Danny would be an orphan, losing both his parents. Patrick would be a great father to him but Danny would grow up never having known who his parents really were. He would only know through stories.

After her storm of cries she decided to think about something different. She started thinking about Shephard and his methods, if he was using any methods. Most interrogators try to get their subjects to break but he was different. He was nice and gentle. He considered her needs such as the bathroom trip but yet why was she left alone chained to a chair in a white room with a light above her head that was always kept on. What was he trying to accomplish? Sam pondered on the question for a while. After a few more moments she finally figured it out.

He was using her mind to try and break her.

He took away all the control from her. She was bound to the chair and obviously didn't have the control to move. The chair was faced away from the door so that she couldn't see who was behind her. There were no windows in the room that would allow her to see the time of day and the light above her head even distorted her sense of time more. They made sure she didn't even have a glimpse of a chance to even attempt to escape. When they switch her chair or brought her to the bathroom they had a handle on her the entire time. It was all a mind game. He was trying to get into her head to try and get her to talk. All she had to do was make a barrier so that Shephard couldn't get in. That was going to be easier said than done.

* * *

Nathan stepped out of the room and walked quietly over to Anna in the lobby as to not cause alarm to Sam's family. "Anna, you might want to come and see this," he whispered. Anna nodded in return and they both walked back to the room, happy that no one had noticed them.

"Did you find something?" asked Anna. Nathan brought Anna over to the laptop so that she could see everything he could see.

"We found the file that they had on Sam. They have everything on Sam," said Nathan showing Anna the file.

The file was extensive. It started with Sam's birth certificate and went onto the adoption documents. It included every criminal report of Sam; even crimes that were removed from Sam's criminal record. Every possible medical record was also in the file even regular checkups from Sam's childhood, even though she didn't have many.

"Wow, they know almost everything about Sam," noted Anna. "Yes and look here. They have little blurbs about everybody close with Sam at one point to another," said Nathan as he scrolled through the file. "For example, we have Alexis Davis, Jason Morgan and even Sam's adoptive father."

"Which means that Sam is in more danger than we thought. They'll know when she is lying. I'm going to have two men work with you and check all the people, well not all the people in the laptop but ones that you think are of importance," said Anna.

"Anna, do you think we'll have a chance of finding her. How much time do we have to actually find her? How do we know she hadn't been killed already?" asked Nathan before Anna was going to walk out.

"We don't know but we have to be hopeful that she is still alive. Dante told me that we probably have a week to 2 week window," said Anna as she walked out and went to address Alexis on the latest updates.

"Anna, please tell me you have some sort of update. Anything please!" pleaded Alexis as she ran to the police commissioner. Anna led Alexis to a desk in the corner and had her sit down. This was not going to be comforting information.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Dante questioned a man associated with the corporation and he told us that we probably have a one to two week window to find Sam. The bad news is that that they have all the information you could possibly have on Sam so she can't lie without them knowing," reported Anna.

"But she's smart right Anna. She'll figure it out. She'll find a way to escape. We'll find her," panicked Alexis. Alexis was terrified. She wouldn't know how to cope without one of her daughters and could be that very soon she could only have two daughters.

"Alexis, Sam is a survivor. She has been through so much that I'm positive she'll get through this alive. Also, Sam is a private investigator. She'll be able to figure out these men. Plus, I gave her some lessons on espionage and profiling this past month," said Anna trying to comfort Alexis.

* * *

Silas unlocked the door and walked into the apartment and found Nina attempting to text on her smartphone. She held the phone in one hand and with her other hand she was pressing the screen the way someone would type on a 20 year old typewriter that hasn't been oiled in a long time. She was essentially tapping the crap out of the phone.

"What are you even trying to do? These phones are pretty sensitive. No need to tap so hard," said Silas as he shut the door behind him.

"I'm sorry, still trying to get used to his. Where were you last night? I thought you were on call tomorrow night," asked Nina.

"I wasn't in the hospital and I wasn't on call. I was in the police precinct," explained Silas.

"Wait wait, what do you mean? Were you arrested? Is there a problem?" asked Nina worried.

"Sam was kidnapped. Julian called me because he thought that Sam and I were still together," said Silas.

"Ok, so why did you go to the precinct. You and Sam are not a thing anymore?" asked Nina.

"Doesn't mean I don't care or love her still. We had a good year together. She was the first woman I loved after you went into your coma. Before Sam I was an old, arrogant, grumpy doctor," said Silas patiently. He didn't want to hurt her but he also didn't want to behold the truth.

"So what did they say at the precinct? Do they know who kidnapped her?" asked Nina curiously but trying to act concerned.

"Yes. It's a loan shark organization that goes by the name Shephard Family. You probably don't know who they are. I'm going to go take a shower," said Silas as he walked towards the hallway to the bathroom. Once Nina heard the water running she knew she was safe.

"You don't know how wrong you are Silas. I know everything about the Shephard Family and the Cortez Family," whispered Nina. She took out her cellphone and entered in a number.

"Hey this is Nina. Job well done guys," she said to the other person on the phone and then hung up.

* * *

Dante and Nathan were both in the car driving towards a lead. The lead was Sam's or Katelyn's manger/employer. Dante had questioned Patrick about the men that Sam had worked with and they looked the men up in the database of the one laptop. They were able to obtain photo ID which allowed the two detectives to get the address. The man, whose real name is George Keys, lived 40 minutes away from Port Charles.

By the time they reached the house, the sun was beginning to rise. Dante went up and rang the doorbell. A middle-aged woman came to answer the door.

"Hello, may I help you?" she asked politely. She was wearing on oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants and she had her brunette hair tied in a bun and she had puffy eyes, almost as if she were just crying.

"Hello ma'am. We're here from the PCPD," said Dante as both detectives showed their badges. "Is Mr. Keys home by any chance?"

"No, I'm sorry. He's rarely ever home. I have no idea when he'll be home. I'm his wife," she answered.

"Do you mind if we ask some questions about your husband Mrs. Keys?" asked Nathan.

"I don't mind. Why don't you come on in? You can set where ever you'd like. Make yourself feel at home," she said welcoming the two men in.

The house looked old, dirty, and unmaintained. There were stains on the former white walls and on the carpet. The walls were bare and the couch was completely torn apart with the stuffing hanging out. There were also empty candy wrappers and mildew covered newspapers all over the floor. This certainly didn't feel like home.

"Are you aware of what your husband's profession is or how he makes money?" asked Dante while he was searching for a clean place to sit but to be frank, there were no clean places to sit. In the end, both Nathan and Dante decided to stay standing, while the wife went to sit down.

"He works at an illegal casino. He tried to hide it from me for years. I suspected he might have been a secret agent because he was always absent. I was wrong. Very wrong," she said.

"Do you know who he worked for?" Nathan asked again.

"He told me he was coerced into the Shephard Organization. I think that was what it was called. Don't quote me on it. He apparently had secret contact with ones of the advisers. They told him when they needed someone to 'disappear' so that he could prepare for it," she explained.

"What do you mean prepare?" asked Dante worryingly.

"I'm not sure but he told me that they would take out the cameras for the day. Make sure that the employee came in that day. Clean up the place for the men who kidnapped the people. Everything had to be perfect for those officials. The guys in the casino were deathly afraid of them because they had the power to kill you," she said. She had a very hoarse almost as if she'd been smoking since she was a baby.

"Alright, do you know what they would do with the victims? Where they would take them?" asked Dante.

"Not exactly. I think somewhere in Syracuse. Like an hour away from here but don't quote me on that. I'm not asking any questions about why you are here because I don't want to know. I have nothing more to say unfortunately. I hope you find whatever or whoever you are looking for," she said.

"Thank you for answering our questions. This is my card. Please call if you have any more information or if your husband returns home," said Dante, handing over his card.

* * *

Sam heard the door creak open behind her. She felt her heart rate rise and her adrenaline running. She had to stick to her plan. It was the only way to take some control from them.

Shephard walked in, took his chair, set it in front of Sam and sat down. He looked different than before. He had shaven his hair; he was bald. "Why would he do that," thought Sam.

"Hello Sam. Did you miss me?" asked Shephard. "Why don't we get back to our questions. Do you want some water?" one of the guards brought two water bottles over to Shephard. Sam remained quiet. She didn't want to say anything because that would give Shephard the power of the interrogation.

"I will take that as a no. Well if you want water, just ask. The same goes if you are hungry. Who hired you?" he asked. He was more direct this time. Just like the first time Sam had met him. Sam remained silent.

"The silent treatment?" he said casually. "Boys," he called. Two men came in again and stayed behind Sam this time so that she couldn't see what was going to happen. She heard some sort of ripping noise and instantly starting worrying. Shephard nodded to the boys to continue their task. One guard took Sam's head, placing each hand on either side of her face, and brought it back. Sam tried to resist but it was to no use. The guard was too strong for her. The other guard placed duct tape over Sam's mouth. The guard let go of Sam's face and they both walked out of the room.

Sam had lost control again. Yes, she didn't want to talk but that was her decision. Now they took it out of her hands and made sure she couldn't talk. It wasn't her decision anymore. They had control. Sam felt her hope seep out of her body. Now she was lost. What was she going to do now? Her only hope now is her family finding her and that would be a miracle at the least.

"You obviously didn't want to talk so I thought we'd help you out a little bit," said Shephard. He was sitting in the chair so casually. Looking at him you'd think he was just talking to an old friend over a cup of coffee.

"So now you obviously can't answer any of my questions which means I'll have to talk through this entire session," he said. Sam rolled her eyes at him. She was trying so hard to hold back her tears because she didn't want to show her vulnerability or her weakness.

"I actually don't have much to talk about. Business is going well, family is happy and healthy. Wait a second; I know what we can talk about! We can talk about a book I recently read. It raised the question about what it really means to be happy…" he rambled on.

Sam was waiting for him to go but he kept rambling on. It must have been a half hour before he finally stopped. Her eyes were moist with just pure frustration and defeat. He put his chair back and then walked over to Sam.

"I'm going to leave the duct tape on for now. Maybe next time you'll be willing to talk," he said before he left.

He had managed to take over her emotions. In previous sections he only stayed for a few minutes but this time he stayed a lot longer. He knew that she was frustrated and that she wanted to cry. He also knew that she would wait until he was gone so he decided to make her even more frustrated and just when Sam thought she couldn't take anymore he left. He controlled her emotions.

He had control over everything.

* * *

It's a pretty sad chapter, but certainly revealing. I hope you enjoyed it! The date of the next update will be posted on my profile.


	16. Chapter 15: PB&J Sandwich

**Chapter 15: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich**

Nathan and Dante walked back into the precinct through the back entrance so that they wouldn't be swarmed by Sam's family and friends again. They went to Anna's office to discuss everything about the case so far. They were at a dead end and thought it would be a good idea to just regroup.

"Hello, boys, come on in. Take a seat," said Anna welcoming the two detectives into her office. Nathan and Dante walked in and took a seat in front of Anna.

"Alright let's begin. What information do we have as of now?" asked Anna.

"Well, we know that the Shephard organization know everything possible about Sam. We have a one to two week range of finding her. They most likely have her in Syracuse and we have no way of knowing what they are doing to her," said Dante as went down the list.

"That's not much to go on," noted Nathan.

"Why don't we start from the beginning? We have to start from the very beginning," suggested Dante.

"Patrick told me it all started with the Cortez Family Organization. Apparently the business isn't doing very well because of the Shephard Family. Sam's adoptive father asked for money from them years back and never returned it and they needed a private investigator. They essentially blackmailed Sam into working for them. She was hired to take out the CEO of Shephard Organization. Maybe we should check out the Cortez Family Organization and see if there was actually ever an interaction with Sam's adoptive father," mentioned Anna.

"Wait, why would they need Sam in the first place? If they needed a private investigator why go for Sam? It seems like a long shot. I think there is something else going on and that this whole Sam's adoptive father thing is just a cover. They knew that the Shephard Family would obviously kill anyone who would go after them. Someone has a personal vendetta against Sam," said Dante as he talked through an epiphany.

"I like the way you are thinking detective. You guys are going to go to New York City and take Rafael Cortez into custody and interrogate him. I expect nothing but more information on the whereabouts of Sam," ordered Anna. "This was a pretty short meeting but certainly worth it. This could potentially give us a lead on where Sam might possibly be held at this moment. We just need to make sure we get to her on time."

"Alright, we'll get a private jet and fly over there immediately. I'm pretty the mayor would be willing to loan his private jet to us for a couple hours," said Dante. The detectives shuck Anna's hand, walked out of the precinct and headed straight to the airport.

* * *

"Hi again Sam," said Shephard as he walked into the room and sat down on his chair. Sam noticed something different about him. He was wearing glasses and he wasn't wearing a suit jacket like last time. He kept changing his appearance in some manner every time he came into the room. "Perhaps he's changing so that it's hard to form a relationship with the captor because there is no stability. He's trying to make it harder for me to get to him," thought Sam.

"I'm going to take this duct tape off so you can talk and possibly eat or drink something. It's going to hurt a little though. I apologized in advance." Shephard reached over and ripped the piece of tape off Sam's mouth.

"AHH!" yelped Sam as she felt the pulling of her skin from the duct tape. The two guards walked in again bringing with them a plate with a stereotypical peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Do you want to eat something? You're probably hungry," asked Shephard kindly.

"No," responded Sam quickly and bluntly.

"Come on Sam, you haven't eaten in a while. You need some nutrition. I don't want you to starve," he pleaded.

"Why do you care if I starve, you're going to kill me anyway. And also, how much nutrition is in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" she remarked.

"Well, it's whole wheat bread and the peanut butter provides some amount of protein. Also the jelly can count as fruit. I mean if the White House says that pizza is a vegetable than why can't a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich be nutritional," he said. "Now come, let's say you eat the sandwich."

"I already said I don't want your sandwich. How do I know you aren't poisoning me?" she asked.

Shephard took the sandwich off the plate and took a bite out of it to answer Sam.

"I guess that answer's your question. Now boys, get her another sandwich. I would hate for Sam to have to eat a sandwich with my cuties on it," he ordered.

The truth was that Sam was starving and even though she didn't know it but she hadn't eaten in 24 hours. She didn't have dinner the previous night because she had to pick up Molly from a school event and didn't have time to eat something quickly since she had to go to the casino.

The guards, more like servants at this point, quickly came back with a new peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Shephard took the sandwich and brought it close to Sam's mouth so she could take a bite however, Sam refused to open her mouth.

"Come on now, Sam, you have to eat," but Sam kept her mouth shut.

"Boys, make her eat the sandwich," ordered Shephard.

One of the guys held Sam's held, the same way they held her face for the duct tape, while the other guard stuffed the sandwich in her face until Sam finally opened her mouth. The guard quickly covered her mouth with his hand as to make sure she didn't spit it out. Sam struggled the entire time and felt her wrists being cut by the cuffs. Sam didn't have a choice but to swallow the p&j sandwich and the process was repeated until Sam ate the entire sandwich. Her wrists completely torn up and blood was slowly trickling down the chair.

"Wow Sam, those are some nasty cuts you got there. I'm so sorry about that. Boys, we have to take of this, I can't imagine how painful that must be," said Shephard.

The two guys left the room and came back with a medical kit filled with everything you would need in any kind of emergency. One guard uncuffed one wrist and held onto her arm to make sure Sam didn't try any sudden moves. Sam hissed as her wound hit open air. Antiseptic was poured all over the wrist and then on a piece of guaze which was then placed directly on the open cuts. The guards then proceeded to wrap Sam's wrist and cuff it again. The same steps were taking for Sam's other wrist. Sam was holding her breath the entire time; she was trying not to show her pain.

"I hope that you are much more comfortable. Can you fetch Sam a glass of water with a straw," ordered Shephard. After a few seconds the guards came back with exactly what Shephard had asked for. Shephard took the glass and asked the guards to leave the room.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have to force you to drink some water," said Shephard. Sam leaned over and took a sip from the glass and quickly spit it out into Shephard's face.

Shephard dropped the glass and slapped Sam hard in the face. Sam's head whipped to the other side from the shear force. She moved her jaw around to try and dissipate some of the pain in her face but made sure not to make a noise that would indicate to Shephard that she was in pain.

The two men came rushing in to see if something had happened to Shephard.

"Get out! Get OUT!" yelled Shephard. The guards ran out just as quickly as they ran in. Sam couldn't stop herself from smiling. It was the first time that Shephard had a lapse in his persona and became physical instead of the calm and collected character. Whether this was good or not, Sam didn't know, but at least now she knows that he can be ticked, and relatively quickly.

"Are you proud of yourself? You managed to rip off my persona. Congratulations!" yelled Shephard as he sat back down, a safe distance from Sam this time.

"To be honest, I'm actually really quite proud of myself. The only thing you've been doing since you've kidnapped me was take control over every little thing about me: when and what I eat and drink, when I go to the bathroom, and what I see and hear. You even managed to control my movements and my emotions. Just now, I was finally able to take back some control," smirked Sam.

"Well that may be true, Sam, but just remember who still has more control in this situation. You have pointed out to me several times before that you are the one tied to a chair, not me. If I were you I would wipe that do smirk off my face because I, your captor, can still do whatever I want to you while you just sit there," threatened Shephard as he tried to gain his authority.

It was the first time that he acknowledged himself as Sam's captor and it's the first time he threatened her. Shephard was breaking faster than Sam ever was. This was proof that power can mess with people's head.

"I'm chained to this chair, yes, and I know my chances of actually getting out of this dump alive are very slim but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun here and there," replied Sam.

Shephard went outside for a few minutes to take a couple of deep breaths before he walked back into the room and sat back into his lovely chair.

"Let me begin by apologizing. I should not have slapped you. You were angry and I should have let you get all your anger and frustrations out but instead I just became angry in return," apologized Shephard. He was a completely different person which worried Sam because it showed that he was rather unpredictable.

"You have a very odd and weird sense of logic you know. Your persona, your act, makes no sense what so ever," said Sam.

"I'm an interrogator Sam. I'm sure you've had to wear a persona to collect some information from certain bodies of interests. You are a private investigator, it's practically in your job description," said Shephard.

"Yes, I have personas but there is a difference. I don't go out and steal other people's money and then kill them. I help people not hurt them," said Sam sternly.

"The government doesn't seem to mind though. They haven't gone after me in more than 20 years. Actually the last person the government ever sent after me was the FBI agent, haha, he didn't get very far. He also wasn't the smartest; the whole agency didn't have intelligence. Why should I stop this whole company if it is making me millions every year?" asked Shephard.

"Wow, you are probably the cruelest person I have ever met you. Just because the government isn't after you doesn't mean you can go around killing people for money. Don't you ever feel guilty, do you ever feel any remorse for your victims?" asked Sam.

"You know, a lot of people have asked me that same exact question. My answer is always the same: in this business you can't feel guilty. You can't develop an emotional attachment to your victim," he answered.

"A lot of convicted murderers didn't have an emotional attachment to their victims but that doesn't stop them from being guilty for killing another human being," stated Sam. "You are a psychopath. The whole thing with acting all mad and slapping me in the face was just that, an act."

"Woah, Sam, you are very wrong there. I'm not a psychopath. I felt very disrespected when you spit into my face and that is why I slapped you. The only reason why those CONVICTED murderers feel guilty is because they are spending the rest of their lives in a small tiny room with a small tiny window and no privacy. They could care less about the victim because they never knew the victim," he said.

"Then why kidnap people. Why hold them here for days and interrogate them before you kill them?" asked Sam.

"Believe me Sam, not everyone gets interrogated here. Some people are just brought here and killed on the dot. They aren't worth it but most other people I bring in here are worth it. I like to know how people think and people's stories. Some can be incredibly interesting. I always wanted to study psychology but just never had the chance because I was thrown into this business so I decided to make this my laboratory," explained Shephard. "Anyway, I have to go and get back to business. It was nice to actually talk to you today, Sam. The guards will be right in to bring you to the bathroom."

* * *

Dante and Nathan traveled to Yorktown Heights in record time. They found the address of the Cortez offices and called in the SWAT team for backup. Anna was able to obtain the search warrant and the arrest warrant for Rafael Cortez for the two detectives.

The plan was to bombard the building by all entrances and get to Rafael Cortez's office as fast as possible with minimal casualties. They knew that this operation was basically going to be a gun fight and that some people were going to get hurt but it was the only way to accomplish the task.

The SWAT were directed to their exits that they were assigned to and Nathan made sure he had eye contact with one of the SWAT member who had eye contact with another member and so on, so that when Nathan gave out the symbol, the entire team would enter at roughly the same time. Dante sat by the electrical wiring box to cut the lights at the signal.

When Nathan was informed that everyone was at their posts he gave Dante the signal. Dante, using wire cutters, cut all the electrical power entering the building. Nathan then quickly gave his signal to the rest of the team to enter the building.

Gun fire was heard immediately but none of the SWAT team members went down. They were expecting the expected but the Cortez workers had no idea of the possible invasion and were caught completely off guard.

Dante and Nathan were the last ones to enter the building. They took cover behind doors and turned over furniture as bullet whizzed by their ears. One by one, men started falling down and at this point there were a few SWAT team members going down as well. However, the team kept pushing forward. They had to reach Rafael Cortez as fast as possible. With all the gunfire going on, it was almost impossible to see who people were shooting at and both of the detectives were terrified of hitting Rafael.

They couldn't shoot Rafael because that could possibly be the only clue to getting to Sam. The only way they were going to find Sam. The only way to save Sam.

* * *

Thanks for reading and for writing the reviews. There will be another update during the end of the week. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter!


	17. Chapter 16: A Grudge

This is the complete chapter. Reviews are always appreciated :D

Also, the whole hotel situation on the show this past week was really freaky considering the same thing happened in this fanfiction a month ago.

* * *

Chapter 16: A Grudge

Anna had brought in both Alexis and Patrick into her office to discuss the recent events in the case. Anna decided she could bring in Patrick because Sam meant so much to him and vice versa.

"Take a seat," instructed Anna as she sat down behind her desk and Patrick and Alexis followed suit.

"We've managed to find some more clues. We figured out that we have a week maybe two into trying to finding Sam and that Sam is likely being held somewhere in Syracuse. The problem is that that is all we have to go on. Our team decided it was best to start from the very beginning. Nathan and Dante are at the Cortez headquarters as we speak," said Anna.

"What are you hoping to get out of invading the Cortez Family?" asked Patrick. He was confused as to why the Port Charles Police Department would go and try to arrest the Cortez Family. They weren't the ones who kidnapped Sam.

"We were trying to figure out the reason why the Cortez Family would hire Sam. The story didn't add up to us. Doesn't it seem odd that the Cortez Organization chose Sam? They could have simply hired a P.I., especially with the money those guys have. Yes, there is this whole thing with Sam's adoptive father but that was years ago. We're not even sure if Sam's father even ever had any contact with the organization," explained Anna.

"Sam said that she saw the contract that her adoptive father signed. Of course he had contact with the organization," noted Patrick.

"How do we know if it is real Patrick? For all we know it could have been a forged signature on a fake document," said Anna.

"So what do you think is going on instead? Why do you think they hired my daughter?" asked Alexis.

"We think that someone might be after Sam and had connections with the Cortez Organization. Someone hired the Cortez Organization to kill Sam," revealed Anna very bluntly.

"Who could possibly be after Sam," said Alexis shocked by the new revelation. Who would want to hurt Sam?

"That's actually the main reason why I brought you in here. Do you know of anyone who could possibly have a grudge against Sam? It could be a former client or maybe even an enemy of Jason's who still wants revenge," suggested Anna.

"I honestly wouldn't know. Why would someone go after her now? She hasn't worked an actual case in at least a year and Jason's been gone for two years now," stated Patrick as he got slightly more aggressive at the thought of someone possibly having set up Sam.

"What about Silas?" suggested Alexis and all the heads turned to her with a very confused and stunned expression painted on their faces. "I don't mean Silas specifically but Silas's wife. Sam had her doubts about Nina, thinking she could possibly walk and that she has been lying the entire time. The thing she wanted the most was to be back with Silas and Sam was getting in the way. If she's been lying about her condition, what's to say how desperate she is to get Silas back with her?"

"Wow, Alexis, I mean a lot of people get desperate when it is out of love but that seems pretty extreme, no offense," responded Anna.

"I trust Sam's instincts. I think we should definitely go check this out. I'll go to Silas's apartment and ask about Nina," said Patrick.

"Do you think that's a good decision, Patrick?" asked Anna concernly.

"I'm certain. Silas and I have some unfinished business to deal and I think this the perfect chance to lay everything out in the open," responded Patrick.

"Alright, as long as you don't get into another fight again then you can go," said Anna, as if Patrick needed permission to go up to Silas.

* * *

"Hello, Rafael Cortez. You better answer all of our questions," insisted Dante. In the ambush, Nathan was the first to reach Rafael and they were able to get him into the back of a police car. They managed to arrest him on charges of tax evasion and aiding the Shephard Organization with kidnap.

"I'm not going to say anything that could possibly incriminate me," he responded.

"We already got you for tax evasion, which is actually really stupid for a guy like you, and there is no way out of that. As of now you are probably going to prison for a few years. Now if you answer our questions we might be able to strike a deal with you" said Dante.

"Fine, first, what is the real reason you brought me in? The SWAT doesn't usually go into an all-out gun fight to arrest a guy for tax evasion," he asked.

"You hired a private investigator around a month and a half ago by the name of Samantha Morgan," began Nathan.

"Last I checked, detectives, hiring a private investigator wasn't illegal," replied Rafael.

"Let us finish! It's the reason behind why you hired Sam and what you intended to do with Sam, that we brought you in here," said Dante.

"I needed her for an investigation on one of my business rivals. They've been taking some of our clients and that is unacceptable in my world," he said.

"Good thing we don't live in your world," muttered Nathan.

"Why did you hire Sam? There are plenty of private investigators in the city and some are arguably much better suited for that type of investigation than Sam," noted Dante.

"Sam's father owed us and since he is no longer with us, Sam has to repay the debt. It doesn't very fair, I know, but who ever said the world was fair," he said. "Way to be contradictory," thought Nathan.

"Well, I'm assuming that this is the contract that Sam's adoptive father signed with your corporation when he asked to borrow money," said Dante as he pulled out the contract that they obtained at the crime scene and showed it to Rafael.

"Yes, that is the contract with the signature," he responded.

"Well that's odd because I have several bank statements and government papers here," said Dante as he pulled out more files from the folder, "Look at the signatures carefully. The signature on the contract is significantly different than the ones on all of these papers. Would you like to explain that to me?"

"I wasn't there when the contract was signed. My father was still in charge," he answered.

"Really, well we wouldn't know because there isn't even a date on this contract. Now, Nathan, have you ever seen a contract without a date?" Nathan shook his head. "Neither have I. So I'm thinking that this contract is a fake. At least when you are going to make a false contract, check the signatures and make sure there is at least a date on there," said Dante.

Rafael just turned his head in defeat. He never expected the police to look at the contract. It was only meant to convince Sam but now he was humiliated.

"Nathan, look at that face, he is certainly guilty of the fake contract. Now who hired you to go after Sam?" asked Dante.

"No one hired me," answered Rafael quickly.

"O, so you are saying that you are personally after Sam," said Nathan.

"No! I hired Sam to go after the Shephard Family!" yelled Rafael out of frustration.

"You and the Shephard Family are on the opposite sides of New York. Your territories aren't even bordering one another, much less having the same clients!" yelled Dante in return.

"I am telling the truth! No one hired me and I am not after Sam. I never knew anything about Sam before this case; much less have a grudge on her!"

* * *

"Patrick Drake, what are you doing here?" asked Silas.

"Can I come in?" asked Patrick politely.

"Why are you here?"

"It's about Sam and I'd much rather have this conversation inside than out here in the hallway," answered Patrick. Silas then finally allowed for Patrick to come in. "We think Nina might have something to do with Sam's disappearance."

Silas looked stunned, like a deer in headlights. "Why are you accusing her?" asked Silas immediately.

"I can't give you all the details but have you noticed any suspicious behavior with Nina, any weird phone calls or meetings? It could even be a bad lie she told," asked Patrick hoping to get any clues from Silas.

"She can walk. She doesn't think I know but I do. I saw her with Franco in the hospital and she can clearly walk. I haven't had the time to confront her because of this whole Sam situation and she's been missing since this morning. I just noticed the keys to my car missing. I was going to call the station until you knocked on the door," confessed Silas.

"So it's true. She is definitely up to no good and I think she is stirring a hell of a lot of trouble," said Patrick. "Thank you for the information, I'll go and report the missing keys to Anna right now."

Patrick opened the door about to leave until Silas stopped the door. "I hope you find Sam as fast as possible and I'm willing to do whatever it takes for Sam. I'll even cooperate with you if that means finding her alive. Just promise me you'll find her."

* * *

"Mom! Where have you've been? I've been trying to call you and then I tried to call Sam but she also never picked up," said Molly as Alexis entered the penthouse for the first time since she got the phone call about Sam's kidnap.

"Molly, you should sit down," directed Alexis as she gently pushed her daughter towards the couch.

"Mom, what is going on? Did something happen?" panicked Molly as she took a seat on the couch.

"Sam has been kidnapped by the organization she was tailing. I was at the police station the whole morning trying to come up with any clues," explained Alexis. Molly was in complete shock. She started hysterically crying and Alexis held her in her arms, trying to comfort her.

"Honey, honey, honey. We are going to find her okay, but I need your help okay," said Alexis and Molly nodded. "I need for you to take care of Danny when I'm not here because chances are I'm going to be at the police station for most of my time. I want to make sure that Danny doesn't feel like anything is wrong even though that's going to be hard when his mother isn't around."

"Of course I'll take care of Danny. I love him, who wouldn't," she said through her tears.

"Thank you honey. I'm going to go take a shower and then I'm going to go back to the PCPD. Hopefully they'll have some more clues."

Just before Alexis reached the top of the stairs there was another knock on the door. Alexis stepped back down the stairs and reached for the door.

"Patrick, hi, come on in. Did you find anything out from Silas?" asked Alexis as she welcomed in Patrick.

"Nina can walk and Silas is worried she is up to something. She hasn't been home since this morning. I need Sam's laptop, she has a program on there that could help me do some research on Nina," he explained. Alexis walked to desk and opened a shelf to pull out Sam's laptop.

"Here, I'm sure she's taught you how to use them and told you her passwords so good luck finding more clues. I'll be upstairs in the shower, Molly will be here if you need any help," said Alexis handing Patrick the laptop. Alexis walked up the stairs. Patrick opened up the laptop and immediately got to work.

"What are hoping to find?" asked Molly. Patrick jumped a little; he didn't realize that Molly was still in the same room.

"I'm trying to find out anything about Nina Clay that could potentially be helpful towards finding Nina. Here we go, Nina Clay," explained Patrick as he found Nina Clay on the database.

"Woah, that it very unexpected," said Patrick as he read through her profile.

"What, what, tell me is there a clue?" said Molly trying to look at the computer screen.

"Nina last name is not Clay, it's Cortez. Nina's father is Rafael Cortez!"

* * *

Nina was driving out of Port Charles as fast as she possibly could. She knew it would be time until the police were after Cortez and she wanted to be nowhere near Port Charles at that moment.

Nina heard her phone ring and answered it via her Bluetooth.

Nina: Hello?

Cortez associate: Hello Nina, I'm one of the associates that works for your dad. I just wanted to inform you that your father, Rafael, was arrested earlier today. I think you should drive to the safe house.

Nina: I'm actually on my way there already. Is there going to be a body guard there?

Cortez associate: Yes, we have sent a guard over there to assist you. We ask that you get rid of this phone after this phone call. We don't want anyone tracking you not that there should be a reason you are going to be tracked. Your father will never reveal your involvement so no one should be suspecting you.

Nina: Alright, I'll get to the safe house as quick as possible. Thank you for the update.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry for the delay this week, I've been very busy and will continue to be busy as college application deadlines are getting closer.


	18. Chapter 17: 24 Hours

Chapter 17: 24 Hours

Unbeknownst to Sam but it was almost midnight. She had been held in the room for almost 24 hours now. She was tired, hungry and thirsty. She hadn't slept in nearly 36 hours, hadn't eaten except for the PB&J sandwich and she hadn't drank a drop of water since she was kidnapped. Sam was growing weak and tired and she felt her remaining fight and strength fade away from her body.

Shephard hadn't been in to visit her since the whole incident that morning. She has only seen the same two men over and over the entire day and the only thing they did essentially was bring her to the bathroom even though it was getting pretty useless considering she hadn't gotten any food or water. Maybe that was the point; it was just to rub it in her face how weak she actually was.

Sam knew that she wasn't going to walk out of the situation alive and the person she thought about the most was her baby, Danny. She didn't want him to grow up without his parents, even though she knew that there were a plethora of loving, caring people who could take care of him. She was deathly afraid of Danny turning out like Rafe: No one giving him full attention because he wasn't their child. He would just keep being passed around between people and he wouldn't have anyone to place full trust into like a parent. Danny was the most precious person in Sam's life and she wanted him to be unconditionally loved. She tried for so many years to have a child after Lila was stillborn and now once she had her son, she will be taken away from forever.

She wanted to cry but she had no tears to fall down her cheeks so instead she tried to scream. It was a weak scream but there was so much desperation in it.

"Let me out!" she cried. She struggled against the restraints and kept screaming with all the energy she had left. It was the only thing she had left to do; only way for her voice to be heard. Her wrists were bleeding again and blood seeped through the bandages. Her ankles were also cut open and blood slowly fell down her feet.

The two guards walked in shortly after Sam began screaming and Sam stopped. She looked and never looked into men's faces. Usually she tried to look strong and kept her head up. Now she was exhausted and too drained.

One guard held her head just as before while the other guard ripped off a piece of duct tape and placed it on Sam's face. They didn't want her to make noise or scream. God forbid she annoyed anyone outside by her screams.

The guards had also noticed Sam's ankles and wrists and stayed to take care of them. They took each limb one at a time and cleaned out the wound and wrapped it. Sam didn't make any noise, she didn't even wince. Her head just hung long and when the guards left, she closed her eyes.

* * *

Silas walked into the PCPD and saw Anna and Patrick. Patrick had informed Anna on what he had found out and had called Silas to tell him. Silas immediately drove over to the PCPD after the phone call.

"Silas, good you are here," greeted Anna.

"Silas, what car do you drive?" asked Patrick. He wanted to get right to the chase, no need to waste time on useless greetings.

"I have a black sports car. It's an Audi A7 2013 model," answered Silas while Patrick quickly wrote it down on his notepad.

"A lot better than a Mazda," Patrick muttered.

"What did you say?" asked Silas.

"Nothing."

"Alright, Anna you told me that you have access to every street camera in Port Charles. We need to start with the ones closest to Silas's apartment and track where she went. Also I want the identification of the car released to the press so that people can call if they spot the car," ordered Patrick. Anna didn't really mind much that Patrick was running the operation because he knew he was desperate and that he was pretty good considering one, he was a doctor, and two, Sam had taught him a lot about the ways of detective work.

"I'll have one of my men one it right away," responded Anna.

The phone rang and Anna picked up.

"Anna Devane Port Charles police commissioner… yes I want a CSI unit over to Silas Clay's apartment immediately… We are looking for anything that could give us a hint of where Nina Clay might have gone and what she has been doing in the last couple of months…Alright thank you very much…" Anna then hung up and it only take an hour before the CSI team called back with a piece of evidence.

"Hi, is this the CSI team… really alright… take a picture of it and send it to my phone … thank you very much…"

"What did they find?" asked Silas.

"They found a letter that Nina left behind on your coffee table," answered as she looked on her phone and found the letter.

"I haven't been to the apartment since Sam has been missing. I haven't even gone to the hospital to visit my patients," said Silas. Everyone looked on to Anna's phone and read the letter.

_Dear Silas,_

_A couple of my friends and I have been reconnecting a lot lately since the coma. It's short notice but I found out that two of them are visiting Port Charles today so we decided to go to the country club and have some fun in a cabin. The cabin is in the middle of nowhere so there isn't any cellular reception. I should be back in two days though and Rosalie is driving me to the cabin. Thank you, Silas._

_Love,_

_Nina_

"Nina thinks you still don't know about who she really is," said Anna. "She thinks I'm still very naïve."

"We have to call Rosalie and get her down here," said Patrick and Silas took out his phone and began dialing the number.

"Wait, Silas, stop she's here," said Anna as she noticed Rosalie walked into the precinct.

"Thank God Silas you are here. I've been trying to get a hold on Nina but she hasn't been picking so I decided to go by your apartment. I think your apartment was robbed and that you and Nina were hurt. I thought the best place to go was to the police department. Obviously you're fine and I'm going to assume the Nina is fine as well," said Nina as she came running to Anna and the two men.

"I have no idea where Nina is and that is you being here is perfect timing," said Silas. Anna stepped in before it got to tense.

"We need you to come into the interrogation room. Don't worry you're not under arrest but we need information about Nina now," said Anna informing the nurse.

"What is this about?" she asked hesitantly. Anna started guiding her to the interrogation room.

"I will tell you once we go into the room," said Anna.

* * *

After an hour, Rosalie and Anna finally walked out of the interrogation room and Rosalie was completely expressionless. She didn't even look at the two men and she just walked right out of the precinct without saying a word.

"Anna, what happened?" asked Patrick. "Yeah, did she give you any information about Nina?" asked Silas.

"She had no idea about Nina and her father. She did say, however, that Nina had a list with all the people she wanted revenge on. On the list was Sam, Kiki, Madeline, Ava, and you Silas," said Anna.

"That's probably not going to help us much. It only proves our point that she is psycho," said Patrick.

Just then a police officer came running over to Anna with a note in his hands.

"Commissioner, someone called to give us a tip and he said that he spotted an Audi A7 in a driveway while he was on the road," said the police officer. Patrick immediately jumped in when he heard what the officer had said.

"Officer, send me the coordinates to my phone," said Patrick as he took his jacket and keys and ran out of the precinct towards his car.

"Wait Patrick!" yelled Anna. She didn't know how dangerous Nina was and he didn't have proper training for confrontations. "Who am I kidding? There is no stopping him," said Anna as she ran after Patrick with Silas quickly following suit.

* * *

Patrick, Anna, Silas and two other police officers pulled up to the house where the suspected Audi A7 was spotted and an A7 was definitely there. Silas walked up to the car and looked at the license plate. "It's my car," he said.

"Alright, I called a judge on my way here and asked for an emergency search and arrest warrant. We only have two officers with us right now and I don't want to wait any longer. I am going to give you guys two pistols. I want two in the front entrance, two by the back door and one police officer standing by the car observing the house to make sure no one runs out of the house or jumps out of the windows," said Anna as she pulled out two guns from the glove box of her car and handed it to the two men. "Are you boys comfortable with these?"

"I prefer to do this and go in instead of just sitting in the car waiting for something to happen," said Patrick, taking the gun confidently and thinking back to the tips that Sam had given him.

"I don't know how to use a gun," said Silas. "Alright, Silas I want you to stay back and watch the house. Patrick, you are with me by the front entrance. The other officers will go to the back door," said Anna.

Patrick and Anna stood on the porch ready to go. Patrick got a surge of adrenaline course through his entire body. It was the same feeling he got when cutting into a person's brain. He now understood why Sam would want to do this every day. It was her way of getting some excitement throughout the day and knowing she had a very adrenaline filled past, Sam was definitely not fit for the desk jobs that Alexis first wanted her to have.

"Nina, we know you are in there. We have the house surrounded. Please come to the front door and keep your hands up to where we can see them at all times," yelled Anna. After a few moments, when there was no response, Anna gave Patrick the signal. Patrick took a step back and kicked the door of the hinges and both Anna and Patrick ran in with their guns drawn. The police officers by the back entrance quickly followed suit.

Everyone rushed into the house and quietly searched through the entire house with the occasional 'clear'. They checked the house up and down, left to right, in the closets, under the beds and in the attic but Nina was nowhere to be found. She had set them all up so that she had more time to escape.

"God damn it!" yelled Patrick as he punched a hole into the nearby wall with all his strength he could possibly muster. This was the peak of his frustrations and he wanted nothing more to just find Sam and have her come home alive. Patrick pulled his hand out of the wall and found his knuckles all bloody.

"Patrick, you need to calm down. It's not going to do anyone any good if you go punching walls. We'll have another CSI team come over and check for any clues in the house as well as check the GPS in the car to see when she got here. Right now you need to go to the hospital and get the hand checked out because that is a nasty cut," said Anna as she tried to comfort the inconsolable Patrick. He was completely enraged.

"No no no! We have to keep looking for Sam. My hand will be fine, we can't say the same for Sam," yelled Patrick.

"Patrick please! You haven't slept in I don't know how long and who knows when you last eat something. If you want to find Sam you are going to have to keep yourself in check because you won't be able to think properly without any sleep or food. At least go to the hospital and get your hand taken care of," pleaded Anna.

"Alright fine, I'll go but I'm going to come straight back to precinct afterwards," agreed Patrick.

* * *

"This won't need stitches but Anna is right, you have to get it cleaned it out," said Elizabeth as she looked at Patrick's hand.

"Thank you for helping me, I know you have a busy shift tonight with a lot of patients. The last thing you probably wanted was for some guy to ask for you to take care of a stupid hand," said Patrick.

"I heard about Sam. I understand that you are frustrated and want to spend all your time devoted to finding her. If someone I love were to be kidnapped I would move heaven and earth to try and find him or her. There is no reason for you to be thanking me because I know you would definitely do it for me if I were to have been in the same situation," said Elizabeth as she reached over for some disinfectant and a gauze pad.

"I'm just waiting for that big break that could help us solve everything and find Sam. I know we've only been dating for a little over a month but she's been such a good friend to me for so many years and I can't lose another person in my life. When I 'lost' Robin I didn't know what to do with myself and then I lost my son. I don't know how I will go on if I can't find Sam. Also can you imagine Danny going throughout life without either of his parents?" said Patrick as he began tearing up. Elizabeth continued tending to Patrick's bloody knuckles.

"Maybe you have to take a more holistic view of everything. Take an objective view of the investigation. So far you've been following every small lead you've gotten. That's how Nina got away because she knew you would jump at the opportunity of finding the car," said Elizabeth as she began wrapping Patrick's knuckles.

"That's just it. The person who gave us the tip wasn't just some good Samaritan. If Nina's father is Rafael Cortez, then he must have people protecting her and one of them probably set up the phone call and brought Nina to a safe house. We always thought the she was alone of the escape; we have to look at safe houses that the Cortez organizations have set up in or near Port Charles. Thank you so much Elizabeth," said Patrick. Elizabeth finished wrapping Patrick's hand and looked up.

"I'm always happy to help and for what it's worth I would hate to see any child grow up without any parents," said Elizabeth and with that Patrick gave her a little hug and walked out of the exam room and headed to the elevators.

* * *

Thanks for reading! and please review. You can tell me whether you like it or not. You can also let me know what parts you like and what parts you don't like and you can tell me what you think will happen in the next chapters. Thank you again! :D


	19. Chapter 18: ALEXIS!

So this chapter is predominately focused on Alexis (just in case you couldn't tell by the title of the chapter lol) Thank you for the reviews and please enjoy :D

I must say, though, this chapter was especially hard to write because I'm becoming more and more disgusted by Shephard. I find myself skipping that part when writing and then coming back to it at a later time. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy it and keep reading the fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 18: ALEXIS!

"Patrick, hi, sorry I haven't been here, I wanted to make sure that Molly and Danny was ok. I went and bought some groceries for them and did some other stuff. Are there any updates? Please tell me you found something," said Alexis as he come walking into the precinct. "OMG! What happened to your hand?"

"I'm fine, Alexis, nothing to worry about. Nina was been the person behind this entire plan of trying to get Sam killed. Rafael Cortez is Nina's father so we are now looking for safe houses that Cortez family could have possible set up within the area," said Patrick. "Is Danny ok?"

"Danny is fine, but what, NINA?! H…how…what?! So I was right to suspect Nina?!" exclaimed Alexis. "Have you seen Julian anywhere? I need to tell him about this new revelation."

"I called him already. He said he was going to put his men on the task and that he was working together with Sonny to try and find any more information on Nina and the infamous Cortez organization," answered Patrick.

Alexis walked over to a nearby desk and placed her stuff done. She knew that Sam suspecting something off with Nina but she never knew that Nina could be this demented.

"So have you found any possible safe houses?" asked Alexis.

"No, but I have Dante and Nathan interrogating Rafael down near New York City. I'm not expecting much considering he is the father but Dante is a good interrogator and he can twist Rafael head around so that Rafael might spill the beans," said Patrick.

"Wow, I completely forgot that Dante and Nathan still had Rafael in custody and that they were still near New York City. Did Rafael say anything useful?" asked Alexis. She was spitfiring questions just as she usually did in a panic.

"No they haven't but we should have something in the next few hours hopefully," said Patrick.

"Patrick! That's not good enough! We have to find her now. She somewhere out there probably scared out of her mind and possibly hurt. Who knows what they are doing to her!" yelled Alexis.

"Alexis you need to calm down, there is nothing more that I want to do than find Sam and bring her home! I love her!" yelled Patrick in return.

"Patrick, we got a hit!" said Anna as she came running out of her office.

* * *

"So this is the safe house that the indescribable creature is in right?" asked Alexis as she sat in the passenger seat with Julian in the driver's seat. They wanted to wait till everyone else arrived before going in. Patrick and Anna drove in the same car but they had been caught up in traffic as well as Sonny and his men.

"Yeah, this is the address and I see a car in the driveway so there is definitely someone in there. None of the lights are on but that doesn't surprise me considering it's 2 in the morning," answered Julian. "Alexis, Sam will be fine."

"Thank you for being here. The more people looking for her the better her chances," said Alexis.

* * *

"Sam, hey, wakey-wakey. We don't want anyone falling asleep here now do we?" said Shephard as he nudged Sam awake.

"Get away from me," said Sam as she stirred awake and tried to move away from Shephard's touch.

"A little feisty now aren't we? That's understandable considering you are hungry, thirsty and o so very tired," laughed Shephard. He grabbed his chair and sat in front on Sam. Sam's looked sick with her cheeks sunken in and deep dark circles appearing under her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me? Do you get some kind of pleasure out of this?" asked Sam.

"Who knows? Haha, I do it because I want to know more about you, more about everyone for that matter. I want to know what certain people deal with extreme stress. I want to see the various arrays of reactions: the differences between women and men, the differences between ages, the differences in social classes etc. It's very interesting actually and I guess you were right before. I am a bit of a sociopath, I don't feel anything when I see you suffer but it's certainly worth noting your reaction in my journal," answered Shephard. Sam was thoroughly disgusted by this man and it was becoming difficult to keep listening to him.

"So I'm just your lab rat," said Sam.

"Essentially, but don't worry, you're still special to me," he said.

"So why did you come in now? Did you just come in to observe me?" asked Sam.

"Well that and you still have yet to answer any of my questions," he answered. He was so passive and just creepy. He ran an entire operation for money and his own experiments. Sam wanted to throw up but then again she couldn't.

"If I answer your questions will you let me go?" she asked knowing already what the answer would be.

"No, not really. Who hired you?" he asked again for millionth time.

"I won't answer that question and you know that," she said feistily. She didn't understand why he was so persistent in getting an answer that he would never get.

"Yeah, you're right; I'm never going to get that answer from you. Good thing I don't need the answer from you because I already have the answer," he said. Sam's head shot up and she was very confused. How could he know if she had never said the answer? "You were hired by the Cortez Family. You're probably wondering how I know that. I work alongside the Cortez Family. We decided to partner up a few years back because it would be mutually beneficial for us. When one asks a favor of the other we follow through so when Rafael called, we got onto the case immediately. We decided to make it a little interesting and set up a whole backstory to it. You fell head first into the trap."

Sam was shocked and dumbfounded. She didn't know how to comprehend the information and her head was spinning at lightning speeds.

"Wa… why…why would Rafael want me dead?" she asked hesitantly.

"Rafael didn't really want you dead but his daughter did, Nina Clay."

* * *

"Nina, we have you surrounded please open your front door slowly and then quickly place your hands on your head where I can see them," yelled Anna. It was a very similar scene to the false alarm prior except now they were surer of themselves and there were more people to help. This time around there was more cops and Sonny's and Julian's men were there as well. If Nina was in the house there was going to be no possible way for her to escape. Patrick and Anna were on the porch standing next to the front door and Silas decided that he didn't want to stand back and stood by the back door with Sonny. Everyone else made a large circle around the small house, which looked more like a cabin than a house. Alexis stayed in the car and Julian decided to stay in the car with her so that she wouldn't lose her mind thinking about all the worst possibilities.

One of the lights in the second floor turned on and then the light in the first foor quickly turned on. Thee was certainly someone in the cabin and Anna and Patrick regrippped their guns. The door slowly opened and there stood Nina with her hands above her head.

"Alright, now slowly step out onto the porch," ordered Anna and Nina complied. As soon as Nina took the last step out of the house Patrick tackled her from the side and Anna withdrew her handcuffs. The cuffs were slapped on Nina and Anna picked her up, handing her to one of the police officers. Patrick, Anna, and every other police officer stormed into the house in search of anyone else who could have been with Nina.

"Alexis, look, they have Nina," noted Julian as he pointed towards Nina through the window. Alexis, who had had her head down the entire time, lifted her head and followed Julian's finger. Her eyes began to well up and she grabbed Julian, giving him a massive hug. Finally something was going in the right direction and they were one step closer in finding Sam.

After a few minutes everyone in the house walked out with on the police officers holding a presumed guard for Nina. Anna walked over to the squad car where Nina was in and Silas quickly followed behind her. Silas stepped over to Nina and slapped her right smack in the middle of her cheek.

"You are an evil son of a bitch!" he yelled. Nina looked flabbergasted, trying to act surprise.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" she yelled back.

"You know all too well what the hell you did! You tried to kill Sam!" he screamed. Anna watched on the sideline and decided not to intervene unless it was absolutely necessary. Silas needed to blow off some steam, especially towards Nina.

"Silas, she stole my spot. You didn't deserve her. She is a tramp and a whore!" she screamed.

"Save your breath. Nothing you say will ever, EVER, change my opinion of you. You're the one who is a tramp," he yelled before walking off and never taking a glace back at his former wife.

"Hopefully Nina can tell us more about her plan and maybe she can give us some information about the Shephard family. That still stumps me actually. The Shephard organization and the Cortez organization don't even share the same territory, unless…" said Patrick as he was racing through his thoughts.

"Unless what Patrick?" asked Anna in anticipation.

"Unless they are working together; maybe the Shephards are obsessed with kidnaps and death and Rafael had to kill Sam because Nina asked him to do, so he went to the Shephards as a favor to them. Maybe the Shephards gave him something in return," explained Patrick.

"I mean, it's completely plausible and it would explain a lot but it seems pretty far-fetched," said Anna hesitantly.

"You thought the whole Nina theory was far-fetched and look now. She is in the back of a squad car. I think we should call Dante and Nathan and tell them to bring Rafael over here. We're allowed to that because the crime happened in Port Charles not wherever Rafael is where now," said Patrick. He had completely taken over the investigation and once again Anna didn't mind because he had been doing a pretty good job up to now, better than Anna thought she could have done.

"Alright I'll call them but what good is it going to do? Why do we need to bring Rafael here?" she asked.

"I think if he put them together we can get an answer by threatening one of them," he explained. Patrick was already running through all the plans in his head.

* * *

"You know there was one huge benefit in setting up this whole big plan. Patrick and your other friends will never go after the Cortez organization to try and find you but yet they are probably the biggest weakness in finding clues to your location. Rafael doesn't have much patience and put him into an interrogation room and he might let something slip within several hours. Besides, they have to figure out that Nina and Rafael are related first. They'll never figure out that we are working together haha," laughed Shephard.

"You severely underestimate my friends," Sam said.

"Come on Sam, don't lie to yourself. I don't understand why you are still holding out a little bit of hope for them," he whispered. Sam turned her face away from Shephard not wanting to admit anything the truth.

"I still have hope because I know they love me. They'll do anything to find me and I will do everything in my power to see them again," she said.

"Well I think you should give up your hope but it's probably the only thing that is keeping you going. People in the worst possible situations always have a little bit of hope otherwise they would just give up. Why would you put all your strength and energy into something that isn't worth it because you'll die in the end anyway?" he said. "You rely too much on your family haha. You think that they'll always come to your rescue when you're in trouble. I have no idea why you are holding out for your family and friends to rescue you."

"The thing that you don't understand about me is that I grew up by myself. I had no loving and caring parents growing up and that made me very independent. To this day I've never fully relied on my family because I only depend on myself. Yes I'm holding out for my family and my friends to rescue me but I'm always relying on myself to get me out of this hell hole," she whispered.

One of the guards walked in and strode to Shephard. He leaned over and whispered something into Shephard's ear. He looked a little surprised and got up, exited the room and left the chair in front of Sam. It was completely unexpected because else he would have put his chair back in the corner. He was going out of routine. Something was wrong.

Alexis stormed into Anna's office and walked up to Anna's desk.

"Why is Nina just sitting in the interrogation room? Why is no one interrogating her?! The whole point of an interrogation room is to interrogate the suspect. Why are you wasting time that Sam doesn't have!?" she asked. Alexis was enraged and didn't understand why people were just standing around not doing anything to try and save her daughter. Anna stood up and directed Alexis to sit down but Alexis refused.

"Alexis, I need you to calm down. The reason why we aren't interrogating Nina at this oment is because we are waiting for Dante and Nathan to come back with Rafael Cortez. Our plan is to put Nina up against Rafael so that they can confess to their crimes and give us some answers," explained Anna. Alexis threw her purse onto the nearby chair; she was clearly not satisfied by that answer.

"You guys are idiots! You people call yourself detectives?! Putting the father and daughter together will just strengthen them. They are certainly not going to say something in front of the other!" yelled Alexis.

"We have all this planned and thought out. If we do something to one of them, like threaten with who knows what, then the other will talk to try and 'save' the other. Right now we are assuming that Rafael and the Shephard Organization are working together and that Rafael has more information than Nina, so we'll most likely go after Nina," said Anna.

"You better hope that that is enough because I swear to God if it isn't then you won't have this lovely office anymore," threatened Alexis as she took her purse and walked out of the office. Alexis went towards the lobby of the precinct and spotted Julian.

"Alexis, Alexis, Alexis you have to breath. You're to going pass out," said Julian trying to calm down the very agitated Alexis who by now had smoke pluming out of her ears.

"How am I supposed to calm down Julian?! Everybody is always telling me to calm down! My daughter is the hands of a freaking mad man and we are just sitting around doing nothing! Who knows what they are doing to my daughter! OUR DAUGHTER! Our daughter is missing!" she screamed. Julian tried to contain by hugging her, almost like trying to smother a fire but Alexis kept resisting. She was almost inconsolable.

"Alexis, please, you need to calm down and go home to take a nap. You are exhausted and it's not going to do anybody any good if they have you screaming the top off of this building," he said quietly. He figured that if he spoke quitter maybe then she would take his lead.

"How in the hell do you expect me to take nap?! How do you even expect me to shut my eyes?" yelled Alexis. Julian assumed wrong. Julian pushed her over into ta hallway as to not disturb anyone else actually trying to do their jobs.

"Alexis, what can you do here?" asked Julian. He was going to say more but of course Alexis interrupted him.

"Damn sure more than taking a nap," she replied.

"ALEXIS! Please listen to me!" he finally yelled. "You can't stay awake forever. If you take a 30 minute nap you'll be a little calmer and you'll be able to think better. I'm driving you home and you don't have a choice."

"Fine, but will you stay with me?" she asked softly. A small tear fell down Alexis's cheek.

"I promise I'll be there for however long you want me to be and then some," he said and he then took Alexis into his arms. Alexis took a deep breath and finally fell into the embrace of Julian's arms. For a moment she felt some peace, like everything was going to be alright and that Sam was going to return home safe and sound. She never wanted to leave Julian's arms because it was almost like a warm haven.

* * *

Thanks for reading! and reviews are always welcome.


	20. Chapter 19: See You Soon

Chapter 19: See You Soon

"Anna, hey, we got Rafael. Dante is putting him in the same interrogation room as Nina while we speak," said Nathan. Anna turned around to face him with her coffee in hand. It was 5 in the morning, which meant Sam had been missing for more than 28 hours, and the only thing that was keeping Anna going was her multiple cups of coffee.

"Alright then let's get started. There is no use in wasting time. Dante and I will go in and interrogate. I need you to be on the outside and listen to the conversation and see if notice anything out of the unusual that maybe Dante and I missed," ordered Anna, "and make sure Sam's family and friends aren't causing any trouble." Nathan nodded and Anna walked into the interrogation room.

Nina was sitting on one side of the table while Rafael was sitting on the other end, with their hands cuffed to the table. They were certainly not skipping any protocol measures with these two suspects. Dante was sitting on the table with his cup of coffee and a newspaper. He seemed so relaxed and casual but Anna knew all too well that it was just a persona. It was a persona to show confidence and dominance in the room. He wasn't allowed to show nerves or anxiety; the only people allowed to feel those emotions in the room were the two suspects.

"Good morning Commissioner," he greeted as he tossed his newspaper aside and placed his coffee on the table. "Good morning Dante," returned Anna, "Shall we get started?" Dante nodded and stood up from the table to face Nina and Rafael.

"I'm pretty sure you both know why you are here. Sam is missing and you both have a huge role in it. Anna and I are not going to even bother asking about your motifs to kill Sam Morgan because all we care about now is actually finding Sam," started Dante. Rafael and Nina stared at each other intensely and surprisingly Nina was very quiet.

"Let's start with why you two are working with the Shephard organization?" asked Anna.

Both remained quiet and they just kept staring at one another. It was almost as if there was an unspoken contract between; to promise never give the other up.

"I think the cat got their tongues," laughed Dante, "maybe they need some incentive to talk."

"What do you propose then Dante?" asked Anna while Rafael rolled his eyes. It was the first reaction from Rafael since Dante and Nathan had brought him into the interrogation room.

"You people are just idiots. None of the charges are going to stick. We have some pretty good lawyers," said Rafael in annoyance.

"First of all, we have you fro tax evasion and there is no way you can wiggle your way out of that. Second of all, if your team of lawyers is so good then where is the lawyer?" asked Dante in mocking tone again. Rafael remained silent.

"That's what I thought. We may not be able not be able to stick aiding and abetting Nina Clay, no wait it's Nin Cortez, but, I can say one thing for sure: Nina is going to prison for a very long time because, Nina, we have a lot of evidence against you," said Dante.

"Unless you talk Mr. Cortez," added Anna.

"You guys are manipulative pigs," yelled Nina.

"Nina shut up!" said Rafaeal sternly, "She's right though, you guys _are _manipulating pigs. What do you want to know?"

"Why are you working with the Shephard Organization?" asked Anna bluntly. She wanted to go straight to the point and skip procedural interrogation.

"What makes you think I'm working with the Shephard Organization? We are rivals. There is no way that we are associated with one another," he answered.

"How many years do you think Nina will be sentenced?" asked Dante to Anna as if the two suspects didn't exist.

"Well at least 20 years depending on the judge," Anna replied. Shephard sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, we work together," he finally answered.

"Thank you Rafael and just for future references don't lie to us because otherwise Nina here will receive the consequences. I'm pretty sure the last thing a daddy wants to do is hurt their little girl," said Dante, "Now where is Sam?"

"I don't know," he answered quickly. Dante walked to Rafael and bent down by his ear.

"I don't think you understand what it's like to be a woman in a maximum security prison. Guards love to take advantage of the prisoners," whispered Dante.

"Stop it! I honestly don't know exactly where Sam is. All I know is that she is somewhere in Syracuse," he answered.

"Alright let's try a different approach then," said Anna, "When did you and the Shephard Organization begin working together?"

"12 years ago the guy in charge of the Shephard Organization came into my office. He went by Shephard and he wanted to buy my business. He offered a large sum of money so of course I took and he made me the president of the Cortez Organization so that I could still have my original position. Ever since then we have been doing favors for one another," he explained.

"What kind of favors," asked Dante.

"If anyone ever annoyed me I would have Shephard get rid of that person. I trusted him over myself because I knew he would never get caught and he, for some reason, likes to kidnap people. If you ask me he is a psychopath and a sadist. If Shephard wants an important client in New York City then I go after it personally."

"Well maybe you're also a psychopath because you obviously don't care if someone is tortured and killed. Sam was just another favor right," stated Dante.

"Yes, Sam was just another favor because Nina wanted her gone. I've spent too much time away from her and I didn't want to disappoint her," replied Rafael.

"Do you at least know where they take the victims?" asked Anna.

"There are 6 office buildings in Syracuse that Shephard owns. There is one main building and then the 5 other ones are just branches of the business. I wouldn't have a single clue on which one he holds his victims in," he said. Dante ripped out a piece from his notebook and took a pen.

"I need you to write down all five addresses," ordered Dante, giving him the pen and paper. Shephard did so promptly. Anna took the sheet and walked out of the room with Dante.

"Patrick, we have some information," said Dante to Patrick who was searching something on the computer.

"Did he say where Sam is, please tell me he did?!" he asked desperately.

"He gave us 6 possible addresses but we don't know which building she is in," answered Anna.

"Alright then, let's go. We need a SWAT team at every location ready to invade," ordered Patrick. Anna stopped Patrick before he went any further and ran out of the office.

"We can't do that Patrick. They can get ticked off and might do something to Sam. We can't risk it ok," said Anna.

* * *

Shephard was steaming mad. The reason why the guards had pulled him out of the room was to tell him that they think that the police are onto them. Apparently one of the men from the Cortez Organization called in to say that the office had been invaded and that they had arrested both Nina and Rafael Shephard didn't want to take any chances with Sam and the PCPD. He still wanted Sam a little longer; at least another week.

"I need you guys to prepare the building for evacuation of our 'patients' and our important personnel. Remove all our computers and files and also, leave Samantha Morgan where she is now. We'll take care of her last. I need all this done quick and fast. Meeting dismissed," ordered Shephard as he spoke to the heads of the building in an emergency meeting. All the men scattered out of the meeting room and Shephard ripped out a piece of paper out of his notebook and wrote down a quick note. The note was then placed into Shephard's coat pocket. Shephard stood up and then walked towards Sam's room.

"Unlock the door and this time no interruptions. I won't be gone for too long so any emergency can wait. You understand?" ordered Shephard and the guards nodded in agreement and opened the door to Sam's room.

"You left so unexpectedly. You didn't even move your chair. Are you scared that maybe my family is getting closer and closer to finding me?" mocked Sam in a monotone voice. Shephard sat down in his chair, the one he left when he ran out of the room.

"No, I just had something to take care of. I'm running a business, remember? I'm going to have you moved to a different," he said calmly.

Sam licked her dry cracked lips trying to get some sort of moisture on them. Dehydration was really starting to set in for Sam. Her head felt like it was slowly splitting apart and she was getting very week. She didn't want Shephard to see her distress but it was becoming harder and harder to mask her discomfort.

"Are you going to chloroform me again or are you just going to sedate me?" asked Sam bluntly. Shephard laughed at the question.

"No need to chloroform you or even sedate you. We'll just blindfold you and gag you. You're too tired to resist. It's all up to you on whether you want to be dragged to the truck or carried to the truck," answered Shephard.

"Can I at least have a cup of water?" asked Sam. She hated feeling so desperate but she knew she shouldn't last much longer without a little more water. Again, Shephard laughed and Sam felt defeated once again.

"O darling, you lost your eating and drinking privileges when you used the last cup of water to spit in my face," Shephard said and Sam rolled her eyes. Why was he so cruel, sadistic and just pure evil?

"My two guards are going to come in soon to prepare you for transportation. We'll get all those chains off of you and get you into normal hand cuffs and ankle cuffs. We'll also, as mentioned before, blindfold you and gag you. We'll throw you into the back of a van and we'll probably drive for around an hour, give or take some traffic," he said informing Sam, "see you soon Samantha Morgan."

* * *

Patrick, Sonny, Julian and Alexis were all sitting in the waiting room at the PCPD with Anna. Anna wanted to have a chance to get everyone on the same page and discuss what's going to happen next.

"Rafael gave us the address of six office buildings that are apparently associated with the Shephard Organization. They are all disguised as made-up companies. Right now we are trying to get surveillance cars out to each office building and trying to figure out which building would be holding Sam," said Anna informing everyone.

"Look Anna, I don't mean to be rude but surveillance cars are just a really bad idea. I doubt the Shephard Organization would do anything outside of the building so there would be no use for those surveillance cars. If anything, those cars can tick them off and do something to Sam," said Patrick. Julian nodded and agreed with him.

"Alright I'll call the surveillance cars off. What do you suggest we do?" asked Anna hoping for some innovative ideas.

"I think we have to go to the main building. Rafael Cortez said he held contact with the head of the Shephard Organization so I'm pretty sure he is stationed in the main building. Cortez asked him to do a personal favor so it's most likely Sam is being held in the main building," said Patrick. Anna immediately shook her head.

"We can't just invade a building on a hunch. The judge won't grant us a warrant and we are putting Sam's life in even more risk if it's the wrong building," pointed out Anna.

"Sam's life has been at risk ever since she has been kidnapped. We are putting Sam's life in danger by just sitting here discussing what we should do instead going out there and actually saving her. And who cares about the judge?! Julian, Sonny and I can go without the police. Don't say that I'll get arrested because remember, I was already arrested once for trying to save Sam's life 8 years ago," said Patrick as he was getting more and more worked up.

"I agree with Patrick. We have to do something besides just sitting around and to be honest we don't have any other option now," said Alexis.

Patrick stood up and starting walking towards the exit with Julian and Sonny quickly following.

"Anna, I'm sorry but with Sam, I want to say that there was nothing I could have done anything more to save her. I'm going with those men and you better not do anything to hold them back," said Alexis as she walked out as well.

* * *

It's a short chapter, my apologies. There will certainly be another chapter in the upcoming days. Thank you for the reviews!


	21. Chapter 20: I Found Her!

I would first like to apologize for taking so long to update. Hopefully this long update will make up for it. This update took me a very long time to type up and I actually took my SAT subject test for biology this morning and after that I spent the entire day working on this update. I hope you enjoy this really long update and thank you again for all the reviews.

* * *

Chapter 20: I Found Her!

The two guards walked in and Sam took a deep breath to prepare. They began with her wrists and she winced as the shackles came off. The cuts on her wrists were still very fresh and painful. It took everything in her power to not vocalize her pain when the handcuffs were tightened and dug into her wrists. She was handcuffed with her hands behind her back. Next came her ankles, and although the cuts weren't as bad as her wrists, it still hurt just as much as with her wrists. The guards then proceeded to get Sam to stand up and then made sure all the cuffs were secure.

Sam felt very unsteady and light-headed on her feet. It felt like all the blood was drained from her head and Sam felt herself starting to fall. One of the guards held on to her to ensure she wouldn't slam her head onto the concrete floor. The other guard ripped off a piece of duct tape and taped it to Sam's mouth and then the guard took out a piece of cloth from his pocket and tied it over Sam's eyes. Sam was now blind, mute and unable to move.

The guard tried to get Sam to walk out of the room but Sam was having a very tough time keeping her balance and, instead of having to deal with Sam constantly stumbling over, the guard just picked her up and carried her.

* * *

Patrick was becoming more and more anxious as he got closer and closer to the building. He knew Sam was there; it was a feeling that he had. She had to be there. Sam once told him that the best thing to do was to trust your gut because there is a reason why it's screaming out. Now he was taking her advice.

Patrick took out his phone and started dialing.

Patrick: Julian, its Patrick. How far away are you?

Julian: Hi Patrick, Sonny is on the line as well. Sonny and I are going via South Forest Road which can get us to the south entrance. Sonny is right behind me and we're probably 10 minutes away.

Patrick: Alright good, I'm also around 10 minutes out. I see a couple black GMC SUVs behind and I'm assuming those are your men.

Sonny: I thought you needed some back-up. I don't think you can fight off 20 men with just your Glock.

Patrick: Alright, thank you. See you after we get Sam.

Patrick hung up the phone and looked at his GPS. He was nine minutes away. Nine minutes. The car couldn't move fast enough. Patrick looked down at the speedometer and it read 106 miles per hour. "Good thing I'm not in a Mazda," he muttered to himself. His heart was racing and pounding out of his chest. He mind was racing through flashbacks to when he first met Sam and to the goods and to the bads and to when he first kissed Sam.

**8 minutes**

"_Why am I only finding out about this now that you were threatened by some massed attaker?" asked Patrick putting his pen into his coat pocket._

"_Because nobody else saw him," answered Sam defeated._

"_Dr. Devlin?"_

"_He should up after the guy had already ran out after he put his hand over my mouth and said 'not this time bitch, it won't be any fun if you don't struggle."_

"_Sam, I'm sorry," sympathized Patrick._

"_He's the text message killer," claimed Sam._

"_Wait a second," said Patrick as he went over to sit on the bed next to Sam, "I thought the text message killer was the cop, the cop that killed himself."_

"_I know," said Sam trying to move up the bed to sit up straighter, "That's what we all thought, but I guess it turns out that we were all very wrong."  
"Why isn't this all over the news?" asked Patrick._

"_Why because Lucky doesn't believe me. Because he thinks that I need him to feel sorry for me, I guess that he thinks that I am that pathetic and desperate and I just I don't know, I guess I know how he… I guess I know how he really feels about me," answered Sam as she tried to wipe away a tear. Patrick moved closer to Sam and gave her a hug._

"_I'm sorry Sam."_

**7 minutes**

"_I love Robin and Emma more than I ever thought possible. But, and just tell me if I'm crossing the line here, but you had an emergency C-section a few years ago so you would understand. See, it's taken Robin quite a while to recover," said Patrick while Sam sat on the gurney._

"_Oh, gosh, I mean, I honestly don't remember the operation at all. The pain of losing my daughter sort of took over," answered Sam, a little blindsided by the question. Patrick immediately regretted asking Sam about her painful past._

"_I'm sorry, Sam. I should have never said anything."_

"_No, don't worry. There's no harm done. I actually think I get what you're trying to say. You're really worried about Robin," said Sam, trying to make sure Patrick didn't feel bad about him asking her a private question. _

"_Well, you're not going to like this, but I'm going to order you a cat scan," said Patrick while writing it down in the chart. _

"_No, I could wind up sitting here all night waiting."_

"_You got other plans, Sam?" asked Patrick._

"_Yeah, I have to pilot a ship into the harbor tonight," she answered._

"_Really, in a blizzard?"_

"_Hazard pay."_

"_Okay, well, I can't force you to stay, but don't blame me or the hospital if you pass out in the cold, which is going to make it a little bit difficult to pilot that ship," said Patrick jokingly. Sam finally gave in._

"_Okay, fine. Knock yourself out."_

"_Thanks"._

"_Patrick?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_You asked what happened with my C-section, and I know my situation was completely different then with Robin's. I mean, her baby did live and mine died, but for what it's worth, whatever happened between me and Jason after, at the very worst time of my life, he was by my side. Holding me when I cried. Listening to me talk. He even buried my daughter when I couldn't, so I'm just saying knowing that I had that - you know, someone who loved me, if you can give Robin that, sustain her the way Jason did me, I think that's all she'll need, and it'll get her through it," said Sam, trying to give Patrick advice. _

"_Thank you."_

**6 minutes**

"_This is it," said Patrick holding the test tube. _

"_Do - do you think it's gonna work?" asked Sam as she stared at the test tube. _

"_It doesn't matter" Patrick said bluntly. _

"_Of course it matters. I mean, if that's the protocol that Robin's been working on –"_

"_Robin died working on this, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna let him have it," interrupted Patrick._

"_I got to go see my daughter," said Patrick as he walked away from Sam._

"_Please. I know this is a difficult time," said Sam following Patrick._

"_A "difficult time," Sam? A difficult time is getting fired, flunking out of med school. I got to go home and tell my daughter that she's never going to see her mother again," said Patrick slamming the nurse's desk._

"_I am so sorry. I really am. But this medicine is Jason's only chance."_

"_I don't care about Jason! The only thing I can think about is how I'm never gonna see my wife walk through the front door again. I'm never gonna wake up to her ever again," he said. Patrick also had a feud with Jason and he certainly wasn't about to give Jason the cure so that he could live the rest of his life while Robin couldn't. _

"_I am sorry, but Robin would want you to save Jason. You know that," begged Sam._

"_I don't care, Sam. I got to think about how I'm gonna move on. I am not worried about saving Jason's life," yelled Patrick. _

"_Please. I know that you're hurting, but Jason's getting worse, and you are the only one that can help him," pleaded Sam. _

"_Robin went back in that lab to get Jason's medicine. It's his fault she's dead,_

"_Come on. I know you don't see it like that."_

"_No, actually, that's exactly how I see it. And what a waste," said Patrick without restrictions. _

"_Please. Robin would want you to save him. That's what she was trying to do."_

"_This is his fault. Do you understand that? She went back into that lab, and the only person she would have done that for is Jason."_

"_No, that is wrong. She would have done that for anyone. That's who Robin was."_

"_Don't you dare talk about my wife like you know what she was thinking. She should be at home right now with her daughter."_

"_I'm sorry. You're right. It is not fair. Robin should be here with you and Emma. No child should grow up without a parent, including mine." Sam wanted so desperately for Patrick to just listen to her, to go past his own grief for just a second. _

"_How dare you."_

"_Please!"_

"_How dare you use that card right now." Patrick was furious. _

"_If you don't save Jason, my child is not going to have its father. This is our only chance. I am begging you. Please. Give my baby a chance to have its parents."_

"_I'm not asking you to do the surgery. You can give the medicine to any other doctor."_

"_I'm the only one that can do the surgery," he said quickly. _

"_Then do it! Save him!" she yelled. Why wasn't he listening!_

"_Why should I? So he can go risk his life again? He's not going to change. He didn't change for Jake. He's not going to change for you. Do you think he's going to change for that baby?"_

"_Don't you think he deserves to be a father?"_

"_No! I don't think Jason deserves that!" They were both yelling at this point and everyone around them avoided them. They were both grieving for their loved ones and would go to any point to ease that grief. _

"_Please. Patrick, please, I am begging you. I am so sorry. I can't begin to imagine how you feel right now," she was almost on her knees. _

_Patrick: No, you're right. You have no idea how I feel._

"_No, but I will, don't you see? I'm going to be exactly where you are right now if you don't help me. Please! Please don't take your pain out on Jason. That is the last thing Robin would want you to do," Why couldn't he understand. _

"_You may hate Jason, but he was Robin's friend. She would want you to save him."_

"_Really, Sam? 'Cause I think she'd want to be alive. She'd want to watch her daughter grow old and have kids of her own."_

"_No, I know. Of course she would want that. But she also wouldn't want Jason to die. That's why she went back in that lab tonight."_

"_Going back into that lab was a mistake," said Patrick bluntly._

"_Really? Then how did you get the medicine, Patrick? How did you get the medicine, if she went back into that lab and she was trapped? She gave you that medicine. She wanted you to save Jason. She did. She wanted you to save him," Sam was trying so desperately to get Patrick to think clearly._

"_You have no idea..."_

"_You need to honor that!"_

"_I don't need to do anything. The answer is no."_

**5 minutes**

"_I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up," said Alexis as she stepped off the elevator and walked over to Sam and Patrick._

"_No. It - it's okay, Mom. Actually, Dr. Singh isn't here yet, but Patrick has the results of the biopsy," said Sam._

"_I just think it's better that we wait for Dr. Singh." He was trying to avoid the inevitable. He didn't want to be the one giving Sam the bad news. _

"_Please, Patrick. Come on. I need to know," said Sam, "Patrick? Does my son have leukemia or not? Patrick?"_

"_I'm sorry, Sam." Those were all the words that needed to be said for Sam to understand that her son has leukemia. She turned around and cried into Alexis's shoulder._

"_All right. So, we have the diagnosis. What's next?" said Alexis turning Sam around to face Patrick._

"_I'm not an expert. I think it's better we wait for Dr. Singh to discuss Danny's treatment options."_

"_Induction therapy to destroy the cancer cells? Chemotherapy via spinal tap. And then maybe radiation?" said Sam as she remembered what Silas had told her only a few moments prior. _

"_How do you know all that?"_

"_I just do."_

**4 minutes**

"_What other reason besides Danny would I use a-as an excuse not to go out on a date?" asked Sam as she dug her hand into the cheezy puffs bag. _

"_Oh, I don't know. Jason?" said Patrick, stating the obvious._

"_Oh, yeah. Him." Sam handed over the big of chips to Patrick._

"_Moving on is hard," said Patrick taking a cheezy puff into his mouth. _

"_Every step I take toward someone else…"_

"_...Feels like you're stepping further away from…" said Patrick finishing Sam's sentence. _

"_You get it!"_

"_Wish I didn't."_

"_Did you ever use Emma as an excuse not to go on a date?" asked Sam._

"_Emma, work, it's raining outside…"_

"_Raining? Well, you have really nice hair," laughed Sam._

"_Thank you!"_

"_You wouldn't want to ruin it" she said sarcastically._

"_Finally, somebody understands!" said Patrick returning the joke._

"_Okay. I get it. I'm using Danny as an excuse not to go out with Silas," realized Sam._

"_Admitting is the first step, Sam."_

"_Why does it feel like I'M... betraying Jason?" asked Sam._

"_Because there was no falling out. There was no decision to separate. When Jason died, you loved him, and he loved you," said Patrick speaking from his own experience with his loss of Robin._

"_But does that ever go away? I mean, not - not the love. I mean the feeling where, like, I feel like I am doing something wrong."_

"_Yeah, I think it does - I think when you find the right person. It doesn't happen immediately, but I think eventually, you just kind of open up, and everything falls into place," he answered._

"_Well, is - is that how it happened with you and Sabrina?"_

"_I can't pinpoint exactly when, or why, even. But... I just kind of, uh - I don't know. It - it - it - it kind of lifted. And it didn't feel like betrayal anymore. And I think it helped knowing that Robin wanted me to be happy."_

**3 minutes**

"_Still, uh, planning the funeral," said Patrick allowing for Sam to enter._

"_By yourself?" asked Sam._

"_Well, I mean, it has to be done, and Sabrina is... she's grieving, so..." explained Patrick._

"_Patrick, you're allowed to grieve, too, you know. Why don't you let me help you?" offered Sam while taking the papers out of Patrick's hands._

"_You don't need to do that, Sam."_

"_I've been through this before. I know what it's like. If you try to do this alone, you're just going to dissolve, and it's too hard." She went straight back to when she lost her daughter and when she thought she had lost her son._

"_Not as hard as telling Emma that her little brother died," said Patrick as he walked past Sam._

"_I am so sorry," said Sam showing her sympathy. _

"_I had to look at that beautiful little face and give her devastating news for the millionth time. I swear, the words alone just about killed me. But I got to be strong - for Emma...and for Sabrina."_

**2 minutes**

_Sam opened up the wrapper and then threw it over the couch. She cracked open the fortune cookie and took out the small little paper with the fortune written on it._

_"Now is the time to try something new," she read._

"_Is that more to your liking?" asked Patrick._

"_Much. Your turn," she said as she shoved Patrick over so that she could sit in the couch. _

"_Geez, you're so bossy," he said._

"_You're so grumpy."_

"_I'm not grumpy," they both laughed._

_Patrick took his fortune cookie and unwrapped it. He pulled out the fortune and laughed. _

"_What?" asked Sam, anxious as to what it could be._

_"Now is the time to try something new."_

"_You are lying," said Sam._

"_I'm - I'm not lying."_

"_Let me see. Oh, my God," she chuckled as the fortune was completely identical to hers. _

"_We have the same fortune," said Patrick._

"_We do. What do you think it means?"_

"_I think we have to try something new," suggested Patrick._

"_So now you believe in fortune cookies?" laughed Sam._

"_Right now...here... with you?" said Patrick as he leaned over to Sam and they locked lips._

_It was their first kiss. _

**1 minute**

* * *

"Thank you for letting me ride along," said Alexis, who was sitting next to Julian in the passenger seat.

Julian was weaving past everyone on the road ignoring the incessant honking from all the drivers he was cutting off. The pouring rain didn't do much to help with visibility.

"I didn't think I had a choice," responded Julian, "but you're welcome. I know how much Sam means to you and Sam's means a lot to me as well. It wouldn't be fair if you were left at the precinct. I'm sure that Patrick knows what he is talking about and I'm sure that Sam is going to in that building. Within a half hour you'll have her in your arms again." Julian turned to face Alexis and smiled. He took one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed Alexis's hand. Alexis had been on edge the entire hour and a half it had taken them to get there. Julian could only do so much to try and comfort her.

* * *

Patrick was a block away and started slowing down. He saw multiple black vans; at least 6 or 7 and there were many men loading objects into the van. It almost looked they were packing away computers and boxes filled with important files. All the men had black jumpsuits on with a pistol in their belts and some of them had an assault rifle in their arms. He stayed a little behind as to not get noticed and he scanned the area. Patrick spotted someone that was way out of place. One of them in black jumpsuit was carrying a limp woman, a limp woman who had duct tape over her mouth, a blindfold over her eyes and cuffs around her wrists and ankles. It took several seconds for Patrick to recognize that the woman was Sam.

He immediately jumped out of his car with his glock and Sonny's men ran out of their SUVs following Patrick's lead. Patrick charged out to Sam and gun fire rang out.

"SAM!" he yelled out.

* * *

Sam was lying on the couch in the lobby. She was extremely uncomfortable with the handcuffs digging into her wrists and she hated the not knowing. She couldn't see anything and she couldn't ask about what was going on.

She heard footsteps come near her and then someone picked her up. The doors were opened for the man carrying Sam and the man began walking towards the van. The rain hit Sam in the face and shivers ran through her body. She was freezing cold and now she was wet.

All of a sudden she heard gun fire and the man carrying her started running.

"It must be them. They found me! Omg, they found me," thought Sam to herself. Then she heard a distinctive voice; it was so recognizable and Sam couldn't have asked for a better voice to here.

"Sam!"

* * *

Patrick continued running completely ignoring the bullets whizzing by right in front of his face. He spotted Sam being thrown into a van and then noticed two figures in the front of the van; the man in the passenger seat had on a very professional looking business suit and had almost looked exactly like who Rafael Cortez's described was Shephard and in the driver's seat was another one of those men in black jumpsuits.

Patrick ran behind on of the vans and slowly crept up to the driver's seat. Before the man in the driver's seat could spot him, Patrick shot him in the head and then grabbed him and chucked him out of the van. Patrick then jumped into the seat and started the engine. Gun fire was then aimed at the windshield. Patrick duct to avoid the bullets. He stomped his foot onto the gas pedal and went full speed ahead chasing the van that was holding Sam.

The windshield was completely cracked and the rain came pouring in.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and speed dialed Julian.

Patrick: Julian! Sam is in the back of a van. I found her! I hijacked a van and I'm following her right now. They are going down Frost road to South Forest Road. I need for you and Sonny to block the intersection but please be careful. They are going pretty fast and I don't want Sam getting hurt.

Julian: Alright, Sonny and I are on our way. How far away are you from the intersection?

Patrick: We are a couple minutes away. Just hurry please.

Julian: Sonny and I just pulled up in the intersection. I'll see you in a couple minutes.

* * *

There was a man in a jumpsuit waiting for Sam in the van and once Sam was thrown in he immediately got to work. At the sound of Patrick's voice Sam began thrashing around and tried screaming through the duct tape but all that came out were muffles.

"Would you just calm down, please! Gosh, you people are such a pain! No one is going to rescue you alright. That guy out there is going to be killed because you hear those gunshots, those are all our men," said the man as he took Sam into his grasp. Sam didn't listen to him; she didn't want to listen to him.

The man took Sam's handcuffs and placed an additional cuff around them and then proceeded to cuff her to a pole on the side of the van. This way there was no way she could go after him. The man then sat in the corner of the van and put in his ear plugs. He didn't want to be annoyed by the constant muffles from Sam.

* * *

"Alexis, we need to get out of this car," commanded Julian unbuckling his seatbelt and turning off the engine.

"Wait why, what if they ride past us? How would we be able to catch up to them?" asked Alexis.

"First, they won't get past us because the only three things they can do is brake, ram into the cars, or ride down the embankment. If they ram into the cars I don't want you or me inside so I need you to get out now. I'm not giving you a choice. I'll drag you out if I have to," answered Julian. Alexis understood and unbuckled her seatbelt. Sonny, Julian and Alexis ran out to meet up with each other behind the cars.

"Alexis, go behind the corner. Julian and I will have this covered," ordered Sonny. Alexis immediately refused just like she has always done.

"No, I want to stay here!" she yelled, tired of everyone telling her what she can and can't do.

"Alexis, please don't do this now! You don't have a gun and those guys are definitely armed. I promise you can come out of the corner once everything is cleared, but for now I need you to go before they come along which should be any second now," yelled Sonny through the rain. He had his gun out and fully loaded as did Julian. Alexis nodded, giving in once again another person she knew was right. She ran over to the corner and watched over the intersection.

Sonny and Julian stood behind the cars with their guns pointed out to the street ahead of them. They noticed headlights and realized that those had to be the headlights of the van carrying Sam. This was it.

* * *

Patrick's full attention was on the van in front of him. The wind and rain was hitting his face from the broken windshield and it was severely affecting his visibility but that was not going to stop him from getting to Sam.

He saw Sonny and Julian's black GMCs standing in the distance and the van in front of him kept going at the same speed. Everything seemed to slow down around him. The trees were no longer zipping past him and he wasn't driving so fast anymore.

The van in front of him at the last possible moment braked and the driver pulled the steering wheel sharply to the left. Patrick had to hit his brakes to avoid hitting him.

The driver in the van tried to make a complete U-turn and drive past Patrick back in the direction of the office building. However, what happened was completely different.

There was too much momentum, too much speed and the van couldn't complete the turn. Instead the van began tipping over to the side. The driver began to panic and tried to his steering wheel over to the right but by then the van was already past it's torque and there was no way the van was going to stand on its wheels again. The driver acted too late and now the van was lying on its side.

Patrick stopped the car and ran out of his van.

"SAM!"

Julian and Sonny were already at the back of the van trying to pry open the doors. The two men in the front were clearly knocked out. Sonny and Julian each took one door and pulled as hard as possible, but there hands kept slipping from the rain. Alexis came running with two towels she found in the back of Julian's car and give it to the two men. Patrick and Alexis stood back as Julian and Sonny wrapped the towels around the handles and slowly pried open the van doors.

Sam was lying on the bottom still cuffed to the bar and with the duct tape and blindfold still intact. She was unconscious and there was a cut on her forehead with blood everywhere. A man with a jumpsuit was lying on top of her, also unconscious.

Alexis took a step back and placed her hands over mouth.

"Oh my God," was all she could manage to say. She was truly speechless and shocked. It was bittersweet because they found her but now they didn't know if she was going to be ok or not.

Patrick jumped in, threw the man off of Sam and then began assessing her; he started with a pulse and then began looking for places where she might be hurt but still being careful not to move her too much.

"Sonny, Julian, do you have anything that could possibly be used to get her out of these cuffs?" asked Patrick. Sonny quickly pulled out a small metal sliver and gave it to Patrick. Patrick took the piece of metal, jammed it into the lock of the cuffs and managed to get Sam out the restraints.

"Sam! Sam, it's me honey, its mom! We're here now okay, you're safe now. Everything is going to be alright," said Alexis from outside the van. She tried getting in but Julian held her back to allow Patrick his space to work on Sam.

Patrick ripped off the duct tape and then untied the blindfold and used it to try and stop the bleeding on her forehead. He noticed her sickly appearance and dry-cracked lips.

"She's severely dehydrated. It looks as if she hasn't had any water in days. We need to get her out of here and to the hospital," said Patrick.

Julian crawled into the van and slid his hands under Sam's body but Patrick stopped him before he lifted her.

"Stop! We need to do this slowly and carefully. We don't know if she's had any spinal or neck injuries. We have to take all precautionary measures. When you lift her, try and keep her back as stable as possible and I'll hold her neck still. Sonny, I need you to take off you jacket and cover Sam's head and torso. She already feels a little cold, I don't want her body temperature dropping," instructed Patrick.

Sonny took off his suit jacket and Alexis also took off her jacket as extra protection and also so she could feel as if she was doing something for her daughter. The jackets were strategically placed so that every exposed body part was covered.

"Alright on my count," said Patrick as he placed his hands around Sam's head, "1,2 and 3." Sam was slowly lifted out of the van and Alexis immediately went to Sam's side. They carried her over to Julian's car and Alexis opened the back door.

"You guys bring Sam to the hospital. I'll stay behind and take care of the situation," said Sonny. Patrick had an idea of what he was going to do but didn't want to pay any attention to that now.

"Alright, you do what you need to do. Alexis, I need you to go on the other side, open the door and crawl in. Then I want you to place your hands over where mine are now and then I'm going to slowly side them away. Keep your hands as still as possible and Julian, you are going to very delicately slide Sam into the car," instructed Patrick, "and Julian you'll drive to the hospital and Alexis and I will in the back to look over Sam."

Everyone followed instructions promptly. It was as if they had rehearsed this scenario many many times before. Alexis went over to the other side of the car and held Sam's head still while Julian slowly stepped into the car and placed Sam onto the seats. Patrick stepped in and sat next to Sam while Alexis had Sam's head rest on her lap. Julian got into the driver's seat and started driving. While driving he kept looking into his rear mirror.

"She's going to be ok, right Patrick? We found her on time?" asked Alexis panicking. Alexis kept stroking Sam's hair in an attempt to comfort her daughter and she was making sure the bleeding on her forehead was kept under control.

"I think that she probably has a concussion. There may or may not be more extensive head trauma however as of right now, I don't think so. She looks really dehydrated but that's easily fixable. I'm just a little concerned about what they could have possibly done to her over the past two days. I'm not sure if they've given her or anything. Right now she's has a good pulse so I think she'll be fine. It looks bad right now, but she'll be fine," said Patrick, almost trying to convince himself more than Alexis, "she's a fighter and a survivor."

"My GPS says that we are 5 minutes away from the nearest hospital, Syracuse General Hospital," mentioned Julian trying to comfort Alexis to the fact that they are only minutes away from help.

Patrick pulled out his phone once again and dialed Anna's phone number.

Anna: Patrick, hello, is everything alright?

Patrick: Anna, we have Sam and we're bringing Sam to Syracuse General Hospital

Anna: Is she alright?

Patrick: She is in rough shape. She has a possible head injury.

Anna: Alright, I'll call up the hospital and notify them so that they can prepare. Where are Julian and Sonny?

Patrick: Julian is driving us to the hospital and Sonny stayed behind. I'd suggest you bring in the police force now.

Anna: Alright, I'll get right on that. I hope Sam is alright.

Patrick: Thank you, I'll call you later once Sam is stable.

Patrick hung up once again and looked down at Sam. She looked so weak and frail. She was pale and her lips were cracked. The skin around her mouth was dry and torn from the duct tape. Half of her face was covered in blood from the large cut on her forehead and the rest of her body was covered in scrapes and cuts from what Patrick could only assume were from the accident. "Was there a way that he could have avoided that accident?" Patrick kept asking himself. He wanted to save Sam, not cause her more bodily harm. "Could I actually have hurt her even more?" questioned Patrick.

"Patrick, her breathing getting faster, what's going?" asked Alexis frantically. Patrick woke up from his thoughts and noticed Sam's increased respiration rate. He took her hand and felt for a pulse. Her heart rate had significantly increased. He reached over and placed his head on Sam's chest. Alexis was wondering what Patrick was doing but didn't want to doubt his expertise.

"She has a pneumothorax. I hear crackling noises in her chest. Her heart rate is fast and her breathing is fast," said Patrick very rapidly.

"Patrick, what the hell is a pneumothorax? Patrick?!" yelled Alexis. Patrick reached underneath Sam's shirt and started running his hand over Sam's chest to feel if there were any broken ribs. He found at least two broken bones that could have caused the problem.

"She has several broken ribs that punctured her lung. Her lung on the left side is now collapsed," explained Patrick.

"What does that mean, Patrick!? Is she going to be okay!?" yelled Alexis panicking. Alexis was in full frantic mode, understandably. "Why does Sam always have to be an adventure junkie" thought Alexis.

"It means that we desperately need to rush her to the hospital. Julian, I need you to speed up a little. We might put her back at a little more risk but I don't know how bad this pneumothorax is," answered Patrick. Julian got the command and stepped on the gas pedal while still being cautious to avoid potholes and bumps.

"How far away from the hospital are we?" asked Alexis.

"We're around 2 minutes away," answered Julian looking down at his GPS. Patrick was becoming more and more happy that Sam was unconscious. He knew from his work in the ER that a punctured lung was painful and that getting a chest tube inserted was probably the worst thing to happen to a patient in the ER. However, Patrick would have been much happier had Sam never been abducted in the first place.

"Alexis stop tapping your foot," said Patrick passively to Alexis, who look liked she was going to go completely bezerk. She hadn't even realized she was tapping her foot because she was so nervous for her daughter. Sam's head was bobbing up and down as a result which wasn't good for her head or her neck. Alexis stopped her foot from tapping but then her hands started shacking. She couldn't contain herself. Patrick grabbed her hand in an effort to comfort her. He knew she was close to breaking down emotionally and mentally.

Patrick held her hand until they reached the hospital. Julian drove right in front of the emergency room doors where there was gurney and several nurses and doctors waiting for Sam's arrival. Julian ran out and opened Alexis's door and she very slowly and carefully crawled out.

One of the medical personnel stepped in and placed a C-collar around Sam's neck. A back board was then placed on the edge of the seats and they pulled Sam onto it and strapped her down. She was finally stable and Patrick took a very small sigh of relief. They carried Sam out onto the gurney. Alexis was holding Sam's hand the entire time and began getting in the way of medical personnel and Julian gently pulled her away from Sam. Alexis turned around and Julian held her in his arms. At least now she is in the hospital receiving treatment, there is nothing left for Alexis to do.

An oxygen mask was placed over Sam's mouth and nose to help with her breathing, and then Sam was rushed through the doors with Patrick running with them explaining the situation.

"Sam has a rapid heart rate and there are crackling noises in her left lung. I'm positive she has a pneumothorax caused by several broken ribs. She has a large laceration on her forehead with several small lacerations across her body. There is a suspected head injury and she has been unconscious since the accident," said Patrick. He was spewing out the information like he was a paramedic bringing in a patient. The difference was that Patrick wasn't a paramedic, he was a neurosurgeon, and this wasn't just another patient, this was Sam.

"Alright thank you sir. We're going to ask that you go wait in the waiting room. I'll have one of the nurses show you the way," said the doctor in charge of Sam's case. He was all gowned up with gloves and a mask. Patrick refused to let Sam be out of his sight. Instead he just stayed and watched as they took care of Sam.

"I need an EKG and can someone start an IV and push some fluids. Can someone call radiology; I need a chest X-ray and a CAT scan of her head," ordered the doctor while everyone got to work. A BP cuff was placed around Sam's upper arm and then a pulse oximeter was placed over her index finger. Another nurse placed stickers strategically on Sam's chest and attached wires to them for the EKG.

Patrick just stood there watching everything. Watching them get an x-ray machine into the room and taking pictures of her chest. He watched them as prodded her for blood tests and then he watched them place a chest tube into the left side of her chest to drain all the air, fluids and blood. He just stood there watching. Until he couldn't watch anymore and walked to the waiting room where Alexis and Julian were sitting.

* * *

At this point I would like to claim that I am not a doctor so please don't badger me if I got something wrong. I hope you enjoyed the update and there will plenty more to come!


	22. Chapter 21: Welcome Back Sam

I thought I would surprise you guys with an early update because I've been getting so many lovely reviews. I really appreciate them! Enjoy this next installment!

* * *

Chapter 21: Welcome Back Sam

Patrick took a seat net to Alexis in the waiting room. Julian was sitting next to Alexis holding her hand tightly. Alexis looked as if she had been crying because her eyes were all puffy and her face was red. Her clothes were still drenched from the pouring rain and her hair stuck to her hair. Julian's suit was also soaked.

"How is Sam? Is she okay? Please tell me she is okay?" pleaded Alexis at the first sight of Patrick. Alexis hated the not knowing. She always wanted to be in control of everything.

"I don't know. They were bringing her over to the CAT scanner when I left," answered Patrick.

"Why did they have to bring her to the CAT scanner?" Julian asked concerned.

"She was involved in major accident. She may have internal injuries. Anything could be possible. We're not even sure about what happened to her when she was captured. I didn't see any significant bruising on her abdomen when examining her so I think they are just doing the scan as a precautionary measure," he explained.

"How about the pnemo- whatever thingy that you said she had?" asked Alexis.

"They took a chest x-ray and confirmed the diagnosis. It's not a rare occurrence in the emergency room and they are really well equipped in dealing with the problem. They simply put in a chest tube in between two ribs on her left side. It will drain out all the air and fluid from the collapsed lung and return normal pressure. It shouldn't be a problem now," he said.

"What about her head?" asked Julian. Patrick felt as if he were being interrogating by Alexis and Julian.

"I'm not sure. She was still unconscious when I left. The scans should give us a better picture of what's going on. She may just have a simple concussion," Patrick answered.

"Or she can have bleeding in her brain," added Alexis.

"Alexis, you can't think of the worst case scenarios, she is going to be alright," said Julian trying to get Alexis to think somewhat more positively.

Patrick wasn't able to get the image of Sam on the gurney out of his head. It was seared into his brain for all eternity and he swore to himself that he would never let it become deja-vu. She was his adventure buddy, someone who is supposed to be strong and resilient, not weak and frail.

They waited in the waiting room silently and occasionally one of them would stand up and pace around the room. Patrick stood up and got cups of coffee for everyone from the coffee machine that was conveniently placed in the room.

"Alexis, I think you should call Molly and tell her what's going on," suggested Patrick, "I know she's been really concerned and I think it's best that you tell her what's been going on."

"Omg, I completely forgot about Molly. She must be so worried, Julian can I borrow your phone. I left mine in the car," Alexis said. How could she have forgotten about molly? She was so focused on Sam she had completely forgotten that Molly was at the penthouse taking care of Danny. Julian took his phone and gave it to Alexis.

Molly: Julian! Is everything ok, where is Mom? I keep calling her but she hasn't been picking up.

Alexis: Molly, calm down. It's Mom and I'm in Syracuse right now with Patrick, Julian and Sonny. We found Sam and we're in the hospital now.

Molly: Omg, is she okay? Please tell me she's okay.

Alexis: She will be ok. The doctors are looking at her now. How is Danny?

Molly: He's okay. He was a bit fussy this morning and I had TJ come over to come over to help me. I think he really misses his mom.

Alexis: I know but we'll be home soon. Is TJ still there with you?

Molly: No he had to leave to go to work.

Alexis: Alright, I'll call you in a little bit and give you an update on Sam.

Molly: Ok, I love you Mom.

Alexis: Love you too honey.

Alexis had to lie to Molly. She couldn't bring herself to say that she didn't know bad Sam's condition actually was through the phone. Poor Danny missed his mom so much and Alexis wasn't sure when he could see his mother again.

Alexis gave the phone back to Julian and as if on cue the doctor walked in. He was still dressed in his gown and he was in the process of removing his mask and gloves.

"Hello is this Ms. Samantha Morgan's family?" asked the doctor. Alexis stood up to shake his hand.

"I'm her mother, this is her father and he is her boyfriend. How is she?" asked Alexis.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the doctor in charge of Samantha's case. She is currently in stable condition. Dr. Drake has probably told you about her pneumothorax and on the x-ray it showed 3 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The problem was fixable and all we had to do was place in a chest tube. The ribs will take 4 to 6 weeks to heal properly. She also sustained a concussion but no further head trauma. Her back is fine and she has no other internal injuries. Also, she was severely dehydrated when she came in and we've been giving her fluids ever since. She has a large laceration on her forehead that we stitched up and as for the rest she has deep cuts on her wrists and ankles from what we presume are handcuffs. All in all she should make a full recovery," the doctor explained, "We are going to move her to her own room in ICU but you can see her before we start moving her. Do you have any questions?" Alexis, Julian and Patrick all took a huge sigh of relief. Sam was safe and ok.

"Before you bring her to ICU, is there a possibility that we can transport her to General Hospital in Port Charles?" asked Alexis.

"If you prefer Sam be treated at General Hospital then we can arrange for her to be airlifted today," he answered, "I'll show you to her room but I would recommend two at a time. I don't want the room to become too crowded."

Alexis nodded and she hugged Julian out of relief. "You and Patrick go, I'll call Sonny and give him the good news," said Julian. Both Alexis and Patrick thanked Julian and followed the doctor to Sam. They walked towards the emergency department and the doctor opened the door to allow the mother and boyfriend into Sam's room.

Sam was lying in the bed motionless and unconscious. She had tubes in her nose feeding her oxygen and an IV in her arm. Then there was a rather large tube jutted through the side of the bed which could only be assumed as being the chest drain. There was a large bandage that covered her forehead and there were bandages wrapped around her wrists.

"Why is she still unconscious?" asked Alexis concerned.

"She should be coming around now. Just give her a few minutes. I think if you sit with her and talk to her she might wake up," he answered, "I'll go and arrange for her transportation."

"Thank you doctor," said Patrick as the doctor left.

Alexis walked up to Sam's bed, sat down on the stool and took her hand in her own. Patrick stayed at the foot of the bed, overwhelmed by Sam's appearance. She had tubes running in and out of her body, all piercing her body and they were supposed to help her. Patrick was a doctor and he dealt with critical patients much worse than Sam all the time but this time it was Sam. She was covered in bruises and cuts, she was hurt, she looked fragile. It didn't fit; the picture was something that looked as if it came from an alternate universe.

"Sam, honey, it's Mom. You're safe now ok. All you have to do is wake up for me. Patrick is also here with me and Danny can't wait to see you," pleaded Alexis softly. Alexis leaned over and began caressing Sam's matted hair. Sam began stirring and her eyes slowly began opening.

"Hey there, welcome back Sam," said Patrick as he moved over to her side and held Sam's other hand.

"Hi," uttered Sam. Her voice sounded very hoarse and weak but it was good enough for Patrick and Alexis. Alexis began tearing up at the prospect that her daughter was back in her site awake and conscious, and although she was in the hospital, she was going to be alright. There was a moment where Alexis didn't think that she would ever Sam again.

"Hey there Sam, how are you feeling?" asked Patrick. He was ecstatic that she was awake and talking. The overwhelmingness that he had felt moments before was now gone.

"My chest hurts but I'm happy to see you two again," she answered.

"Yeah, you broke several ribs but the good news is that you are going to be perfectly fine," explained Patrick.

Sam was deeply confused. She knew that she was kidnapped and she remembered almost everything up until the guards took her out of the room. Her whole body ached but she didn't know why. What happened between the guards taking her out of the room and now? Everything was hurting. Her head was pounding and the sharp stabbing pain in her ribs was almost unbearable.

"We'll ask the doctor to go and get you some more pain medication. For now I think you should rest before you get airlifted to General Hospital in PC because we claimed you would receive better treatment but also because we know that you are much more comfortable in Port Charles. You're probably confused right now but I promise you we will explain everything tomorrow," said Alexis.

"How is Danny? Is he okay?" asked Sam.

"Danny is with Molly in the penthouse. Danny really misses you. He'll be really happy to see you again," answered Alexis.

"Just like we are really happy to see you again," added Patrick, "but I agree with Alexis, you should get some rest because the helicopter isn't the best place to fall asleep."

Sam nodded and to be honest she couldn't stay awake any longer. The pain medication that she had already received was making her very drowsy.

Alexis and Patrick watched as she slowly drifted away in a peaceful sleep. They both didn't want to leave her side but Patrick had to call Elizabeth and see how Emma was doing and Alexis had to talk to the doctor and then called Molly again to give her an update. Both Alexis and Patrick stood up once they were certain that Sam was deep asleep and walked out of the room. Alexis walked to the nurses' desk and Patrick walked back towards the waiting room and took out his phone to make the call.

* * *

Julian: Sonny, we just got news on Sam. She has a concussion and a collapsed lung but she is going to be ok. We're working on trying to get her transported to Port Charles which shouldn't be too much of a problem considering we did a huge favor for the FBI. They worked for years to try and bring down the Shephard organization and we brought them down in a matter of days.

Sonny: Yeah, that's good, that's good to hear. I'm glad that she is going to be alright.

Julian: Is Shephard dead?

Sonny: I made sure of it. Anna had the SWAT team come in and now Shephard is in the back of an ambulance in a body bag.

Julian: Did you kill him?

Sonny: Not exactly. He had a glass shard the cut his abdomen wide open. I let him bleed to death like he deserved.

Julian: Alright, good job. I'll meet up with you in Port Charles.

Julian hung up the phone just as Patrick entered the room.

"Is everything ok with Sam? Why aren't you with her?" asked Julian.

"Sam is fine. She was awake and talking but then we had her get some rest. I'm here because I need to see how my daughter is doing," answered Patrick.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone and I'll look for Alexis, but not before thanking you. Without you we would have never found Sam. She wouldn't be in this hospital right now safe," said Julian as he was leaving the room, "you're good for my daughter."

Patrick didn't know how to respond or react to the statement. He thought about the comment for several minutes and then he went to his phone and dialed Elizabeth.

Liz: Hey Patrick, how is everything? The news here said that you found Sam.

Patrick: Yeah, we're in the hospital now and she's going to be ok I called to see how Emma is. I've practically neglected here over these last few days because I've been so focused on Sam.

Liz: Patrick, don't say that. She knows why you've been away. Besides, she's been enjoying her time here with Cameron. I think she'll be happy to see you and that her daddy saved the day.

Patrick: Thank you so much for taking care of Emma. I know Dr. Obrecht keeps calling you to work and you're a single mother…

Liz: Patrick stop! You've been there for me so many times and I know you would do the same for me. Besides, Danny deserves to be with his mother. That little boy has been through so much and I don't want him to be an orphan even though there would be a lot people more than willing to take of him.

Patrick: That boy is an absolute trooper. We're going to airlift Sam to GH and so I should be around soon to give Emma an awesome hug.

Liz: Alright, give Sam my best wishes.

Patrick hung up and walked out and looked for Alexis who was standing beside Julian.

"How did it go with the doctor? When are we moving Sam?" asked Patrick.

"The doctor gave her a little more pain meds but he didn't give her too much because she was already on a pretty strong dose of pain killers. He said the helicopter should be ready to go now, just final preparations. The doctor also mentioned that only family member can go with Sam and I've already decided that I'm going with Sam," explained Alexis.

"I understand. I'm sure Anna can have the police escort me and Julian to GH so we won't be too far behind," said Patrick. It didn't shock him that Alexis would want to stay with Sam and it didn't bother him too much either. Sam was her daughter and she had the right to stay with her. Also, Alexis always wants to be in control of everything and not going with her would make her feel as though she lost some sense of control.

"I need to call Molly and tell her we are on our way. You boys can go already get a head start to Port Charles," instructed Alexis as she rummaged through her purse trying to find her cell phone. For a top-shot lawyer she really wasn't the most organized person in the world.

"Alright, I first want to say something to Sam before I go. Julian, I'm not sure if you want to come with me," suggested Patrick and Julian nodded.

"Ok, I'll see you two men in Port Charles," said Alexis and with that Julian and Patrick walked towards Sam's room.

Julian was taken back at the sight of Sam. He wasn't expecting her to look so fragile in the hospital gown.

Sam stirred awake at the noise from the two men walking in.

"Hi, sorry to wake you," apologized Julian.

"It's okay, I wasn't really sleeping anyway. The nurses just keep coming in and out and it's absolutely impossible to fall asleep," said Sam, her voice still hoarse, "are they taking me away yet?"

"Soon. Alexis is going to go with you on the helicopter and Julian and I will be escorted to GH by the police thanks to the lovely Anna. We just wanted to visit you before we get our head start," answered Patrick.

"It'll be my first time on a chopper. Should be fun," Sam joked.

Patrick walked up to Sam's bedside and grabbed her hand very gently as to not cause her any more pain that she already was in.

"Are you still in any discomfort or pain?" asked Patrick on a more serious note.

"I'm fine Patrick. Nothing I can't handle," she answered. Julian felt awkward in the moment. He decided to also walk next to Sam's bed to make his presence more known.

"I knew you were in pain before, you don't have to hide from us," said Patrick, knowing that Sam was the kind of person who didn't want to show any weakness.

"You guys worry too much," responded Sam.

"Sam, you were kidnapped by mad men. You were missing for days. I think we have a right to worry," said Julian in an almost passive-aggressive tone.

"Do you think I don't know that? I was there, remember?" replied Sam a little agitated. Patrick decided to butt in because he didn't want anyone getting tense including Sam.

"We should probably get going if we want to meet you there," said Patrick and Julian got the hint.

"Sorry Sam. I shouldn't have said that," apologized Julian.

Patrick leaned over to kiss Sam making sure to avoid any bruises or cuts.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."


	23. Chapter 22: High Maintenance

This is a shorter update than ones I've done in the recent past but I hope you guys still enjoy it. There will another update hopefully within the next few days. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 22: High Maintenance

"Mom, are you ok?" asked Sam as they both in the helicopter. They had just lifted Sam, who was in the gurney, into the helicopter and now they were just preparing all the medical equipment inside.

"Yes of course, why do you ask?" Alexis was sweating and shaking.

"You're shaking and you are sweating like a pig. You're afraid of heights and you are in a helicopter," said Sam. Alexis took a deep breath.

"I'll be fine honey. Are you in any pain?" asked Alexis trying to change subjects.

Sam debated on whether or not she should be truthful. She knew her mother would become very worried and overprotective if she knew but Sam knew she had to tell someone eventually.

"When they lifted me in the helicopter my ribs really hurt but I'm okay now. The pain is bearable now," she answered. She was semi-truthful; truthful enough to say that she was in pain but not enough to worry her mother. The real truth was that everything hurt and the additional pain meds only did enough to take the edge off. The co-pilot came up to both of them.

"The weather is letting up a little and it's only a drizzle. There should be less turbulence but there will still be some. It's just a warning so that you guys don't panic when we hit some air pockets," he said and then he went back to the front of the helicopter. The rudders of the helicopters started spinning and the chopping noise filled the air. Within a few minutes the chopper was in the air.

Just like the co-pilot had informed, the helicopter hit several air pockets and although Sam had been on worse airplane flights, every jolt and bump sent waves of pain through her body. She mostly winced through the pain, and Alexis noticed and held her hand, but there was on particularly large air pocket where Sam couldn't hold it together. She screamed in pain for only a second, as she felt as if her ribs were splitting apart and every other sore part of her screamed bloody murder, but it was one second too long for Alexis.

"Can't you guys please give her something?! She is in agony!" she screamed over the noise of the helicopters to the medic.

"We can't give her any more pain medications. The doctor told us specifically not too because she's already received more than the advised dosage of pain meds," he answered.

"Mom, it's fine. I'm fine. I can deal with it," said Sam as she tried to calm down her mother. Sam couldn't wait till she was in Port Charles, not only because of her discomfort but also so that Alexis could stop worrying.

"You shouldn't be 'dealing' with this Sam, you shouldn't be in pain," Alexis said. She was deeply concerned about Sam.

"Mom, please calm down. We are almost at GH alright. Just take a couple deep breaths and calm down please," not only was Sam in pain but now she had to worry about her mom hyperventilating. Alexis was high-maintenance sometimes.

* * *

"Welcome back to Port Charles," said Patrick as he walked into Sam's room with Julian right behind him. Alexis and Sam arrived at the hospital a while ago and once Sam was settled in her in the ICU she insisted that Alexis go home and check on Molly and Danny. At least that was her excuse; she loved her mother and she was so grateful to see her again but she needed a break from Alexis after the entire helicopter fiasco. She would have rather been sedated.

"Took you long enough," said Sam with her still quiet, weak and strained voice. Sam waited 20 minutes for the boys to arrive. She didn't want to go to sleep until she had seen Patrick. Patrick walked to Sam's bed and sat down next to Sam. Julian sat down on the plastic chair next to Sam's bed.

"We tried getting here as fast as possible. I'm not going to bother asking how you are feeling because we're just gonna get the sam answer over and over again: I'm fine," said Patrick.

"The helicopter ride wasn't as fun as I thought it would be," joked Sam. They were all avoiding the big elephant in the room. They were either all too exhausted to talk about the events or the boys were just too afraid to bring up the subject. The topic would eventually have to pop up but for now they were just enjoying each other's company again.

"Once you are fully healed we'll get you onto a different chopper and I'll make sure you have a nice view of the lakes," said Julian.

"Sounds like a good deal," agreed Sam. It was then that Patrick's phone started ringing. He took out his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller I.D.

"I'm sorry but I have to take this. It's Elizabeth, probably calling about my little Emma," said Patrick walking out of the room.

"I'm so glad that you are going to be ok," said Julian as he turned to look at Sam again and took her hand. Sam smiled.

"I'm happy that I'm away from that psychopath and that I'm able to see my family again," she said, mentioning Shephard for the first time.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" asked Julian.

"No. I'm too tired and drugged up now. I want to be able to tell you when I'm thinking clearly," answered Sam. Also, she didn't want to tell Julian first. She felt more comfortable with her mom and her boyfriend.

"You know, Patrick pulled out all the stops to find you. Without him we would have never been able to rescue you," said Julian giving all the credit to Patrick.

"How did he find me?" asked Sam. She knew that it was all going to be explained to her tomorrow but she was very confused and wanted to have a little less confusion.

"He used the P.I. skills that you taught him over this past summer. I think you should hire him; he could bring big business to your almost non-existent business," suggested Julian in a jokingly manner.

Patrick walked back into the room and sat down next to Sam again.

"How is little Emma?" asked Sam.

"She's asleep. I told Elizabeth I would pick her up tomorrow after school," said Patrick.

"I'm going to leave you two alone. Goodbye Sam," said Julian as he stood and walked out of the room. He knew that they wanted to spend some time together alone and he was just getting in the way.

"I'm sorry Patrick," apologized Sam.

"Sam, don't apologize. I don't even know what you are apologizing for," said Patrick.

"I'm the reason why you haven't spent time with your daughter. I should have never gone after the Shephard family. Everyone warned me about how dangerous they were but I was so full of myself that I could bring them down. Emma probably hates me now and I wouldn't blame her," she said as she began tearing up.

"Sam, please stop. Emma is happy that you are ok. She doesn't hate you, besides, when did you care about a child's opinion of you. If someone doesn't like you, you just move along," laughed Patrick trying to cheer up Sam.

"She is your daughter. I care because she is your daughter Patrick," said Sam. Sam tried to shift into a more comfortable position but she couldn't lift herself up.

"Do you want me to help you? What is bothering you?" asked a concerned Patrick.

"It's just my hip that's feeling a little sore and achy," said Sam.

"Your hip is still bothering you from the hit and run?" asked Patrick who was pretty concerned. The hit and run was 6 years ago and Patrick was a little shocked that her hip could still be bothering after all these years.

"It only bothers me when I jump off cliffs and get into major car accidents which knowing me, is quite often," explained Sam. She tried to downplay the whole thing and a small smile crept up on Sam's face.

"I can have your hip x-rayed and then an orthopedic surgeon can come and take a look at it," suggested Patrick.

"No it's fine. It doesn't even really bother me too much," said Sam.

"Sam, it's been almost 6 years. Your hip shouldn't still be bothering you. At least let us see what is wrong and what we can do about it," said Patrick. He tried his best to keep his voice down and made sure his tone of voice didn't become too harsh.

"I don't want to. If a doctor looks at my hip then I'll probably need another surgery. I'll be in the hospital for at least another week and then I'd have to go to gruesome physical therapy sessions every day for a month. I don't want to do that again. I just want to go home and spend time with Danny and you," pleaded Sam. Patrick felt about about arguing with Sam now. He forgot that Sam has spent the most of her time in a hospital over this past year because of Danny. He felt very inconsiderate and selfish and he wanted to punch himself for it.

"I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean to argue and I didn't take you situation into consideration, however, I still think you should get that hip looked at. I'm not saying now but sometime in the future," suggested Patrick. He thought it was a fair compromise; she could still spend time at home and when she felt up to it and ready she could have her hip looked at by a specialist.

"Fine, I'll have it checked out sometime in the future. I first want to get out of this hospital and actually be a normal parent to my healthy son," said Sam.

"Thank you. I think you should get some rest now, it's been a long day and I'm pretty sure those drugs are wearing you out," said Patrick.

"Are you going to stay with me?" asked Sam. She was kind of hopeful that he would say yes and that he would stay with her through the night.

"You don't have a choice. You are stuck with me whether you like it or not," joked Patrick.

"That's perfectly fine for me."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it like I enjoyed writing it! Thank you again for the reviews and please continue to review!


	24. Chapter 23: Top-Notch Doctor

Chapter 23: Top-Notch Doctor

"Mom, do you want any coffee?" asked Molly from the kitchen.

"Yes please," replied Alexis. She was eating her breakfast at the table while checking her emails on her phone. Molly came out with her cup of cereal and Alexis's coffee.

"When can we go and visit Sam?" Molly inquired. Alexis took a sip of her coffee and thanked Molly for the coffee.

"I was thinking we could go after breakfast," Alexis answered. Molly was practically on her knees the night before to go and see Sam but Alexis told her that Sam needed her rest.

"Do you think we can bring Danny? He would love to see his mother and I'm sure that Sam would want nothing more than to see her son," Molly said.

"Unfortunately we can't. Sam is in the ICU for now and they don't little kids roaming around that area of the hospital. The doctor said that she should be out of the ICU by tomorrow," explained Alexis.

"Wait, I thought you said Sam wasn't hurt badly. Why is she in the ICU?" she asked worried.

"She's fine Molly but you have to remember that she was in a major car accident. They want to observe her carefully before they send her to a different unit in the hospital," Alexis answered.

"How long is she going to be in the hospital for?"

"Molly is this 'ask mom a million questions' hour? She'll be out of the hospital when she gets out of the hospital. That should be in around a week," Alexis answered as she took her coffee and walked over to the couch and Molly followed after.

"Sorry Mom, I just want to know. Did Patrick stay with her last night?" asked Molly curiously.

"Yes, why do you ask Molly?"

"Come on Mom, even you have to admit that Patrick is good for Sam. I mean he's better for her than Silas ever was. They fit better. Patrick is more adventurous and he has a sense of youthfulness that Silas never had. No matter what anyone says, Sam is always going to be somewhat young at heart. In a way, Silas was too old for Sam. I think it's good that Patrick stayed with her last night," Molly explained.

"And he's not associated with the mob," Alexis added, "and when it comes down to it, he saved Sam and for that I am forever grateful, but I'm just not sure if Sam is ready yet for a new relationship."

Molly was a little flabbergasted by her mother's last statement.

"What do you mean Sam's not ready for a new relationship. Sam and Silas broke up months ago and even though I'm sure Sam still thinks about what could have been and stuff like that, I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to repeat that relationship," Molly said.

"I'm not talking about Silas although he's part of the whole reason behind my argument. I'm talking about Jason and Danny. The only reason she took off her wedding ring was to prove to Silas that she loved him. It doesn't mean that she is over Jason, and I'm not sure she ever will get over Jason but she's still grieving too much to put all her emotions into a relationship. Also, she fell in love with Silas when Danny was sick. She was vulnerable and in a way desperate. Her guards were down and she welcomed Silas into her life," Alexis explained, "After losing Jason, losing Silas, losing Rafe she needs to learn how to get up on her own two feet again. She's been going through heartache after heartache and I don't know how she hasn't completely caved in yet. Going into a relationship is a lot of work and I'm not sure she has enough energy."

"But don't you think Patrick can help her settle down and deal with everything that has happened to her these past 2 years? That's what they have been doing these past months. They are able to relate to one another and they can ask each other advice that no one else would know. Don't you think that Sam can heal with Patrick?" asked Molly.

"I don't know. I'm just being cautious because Sam has a bad reputation with broken hearts and I would hate for her to go through that again," Alexis answered.

"I think you should just give them a chance. Patrick can help Sam recover."

* * *

Sam slowly opened her eyes and saw Patrick lying in the infamous plastic chair. She felt bad for him because she knew just how uncomfortable those chairs are when Danny and Jason were in the hospital. Patrick began to stir and move around and Sam heard his back crack.

"Ouch," said Sam sympathizing with Patrick's pain.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" asked Patrick who was very groggy.

"I think the better question here is how are _you_ feeling?" joked Sam. Patrick stood up and walked over to Sam with his hands on his back.

"It's nothing a $5,000 chiropractor session can't fix," he replied and Sam laughed but immediately stopped when she felt searing pains in her ribs.

"Ow, please don't make me laugh," she pleaded. Patrick sat down and grabbed Sam's hand.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you laugh, my fault," apologized Patrick. He stood up again and grabbed Sam's chart at the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" asked a curious Sam, "who gave you permission to look through my medical files?"

"I'm just looking at you chart to see if any of your vitals changed throughout the night because in case you didn't hear the nurses walking in and out during the night, they are the ones that write down your heart rate, blood pressure etc. on your chart. I also want to check on your latest blood results. As for permission, I'm your boyfriend who just so happens to also be a top notch neurosurgeon and as a concerned boyfriend and a highly regarded doctor I want to see how you are doing. I was assuming you wouldn't object," he explained.

"You are a 'top-notch surgeon' who also happens to have been fired a couple months ago and had to look for a new job," replied Sam in mockery.

"I thought we were going to drop that," said Patrick.

"Haha, ok alright, I'll drop it. Can I see my chart?" Sam asked.

"You can but you probably won't understand any of the medical jargon," Patrick replied.

"Then teach me. Come on. I've taught you all the ins and outs of private investigating and from what I've heard it's come in pretty handy," Sam argued, hinting at the fact that Patrick was the supposed person who had rescued her. Patrick smiled and brought the chart over to Sam. He gently sat down next to Sam on the bed and opened the chart.

"It starts off with just your general health information such as you height and weight, age, race etc. and then goes into your previous medical history which to be honest, yours is pretty extensive if I say so myself. I think you and Jason were competing for a longer list here," Patrick laughed.

"Like you've always been the picture of health," Sam said sarcastically.

"Alright, besides the entire drug problem, which I had also thought we had dropped, I've been the image of perfect health. The only exception was when I sprained my wrist roughly a week before your brain surgery," said Patrick immediately wishing he could retract his last statement.

"Do you mean to tell me that you operated on my brain, my delicate and unique brain, with a sprained wrist?! Sam yelled although she couldn't yell too loud because for starters she didn't have the strength to project her voice and it just hurt too much.

"After the medical history they list current health issues, allergies and medications," continued Patrick as he tried to change subjects and Sam rolled her eyes, "as far as Alexis, the hospital records, and I know, you don't have any current medical conditions, you're not allergic to anything and you're not any medications."

"I can't believe you operated on me with a sprained wrist. The surgery was illegal first of all and then you put my life in danger when you decided it was a good idea to cut me open with a stupid sprained wrist," said Sam as she brought the subject back.

"Hey it's not a stupid wrist. These hands are worth millions of dollars. Besides, at least you're alive. And there seems to be concept that you can't quite grasp. There are some that you have to just drop and forget about," Patrick responded.

"Fine, I'll drop it but don't ever think of doing it to me again!"

"Woah, wait! You're not planning on having brain surgery again are you? Because if you are then I'm breaking up with you," laughed Patrick.

"Hey! Do I sense some blackmail?" asked Sam.

"Don't make me look like the bad guy here! You're the one planning to have brain surgery again because who knows how much it was the first time," said Patrick.

"Fine, let's go back to my lovely chart," said Sam looking back at the chart in Patrick's hands. Patrick took the cue and turned the page.

"The following pages are all your blood test that you have been taken since you have been admitted. This is your tox screen which we used to check if you had any drugs in your system. As you can see everything is negative meaning there were no drugs in your blood stream," explained Patrick.

"They only drugged me once and that was with chloroform so that they could drag me out of the casino," said Sam as she mentioned her kidnapping for the first time. Patrick didn't want to push Sam's boundaries and decided to just continue going through the chart. He wanted Sam to tell him on her own terms.

Patrick noticed Sam's smile slowly faint away however and he knew that she was thinking back to what had happened to her these last few days.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Patrick gently. Sam took a deep breath and a battle ensued in her head. Did she want to tell him? She didn't want him to think she was weak or hurt but wasn't it already too late? She was lying in a hospital bed attached to a heart monitor and with multiple tubes piercing her skin. Wasn't this the definition of vulnerability?

"They technically didn't do anything to me. Shephard had me shackled to a chair in a dark room with just a single light above my head and no windows. He only slapped me in the face once and that was it. I think his biggest was to mentally break me. I didn't get any food or water and they controlled every part of me. They controlled all my movements through shackles and they decided when I was allowed to go to the bathroom, when I was allowed to speak and when I was allowed to sleep which was never. They left the light on over my head and it kept buzzing so that the restraints and the light made it impossible to get any sleep. I felt so weak and tired, and I'm not sure how much longer I would have lasted if you hadn't saved me when you did," said Sam.

Tears began to fall down Sam's cheeks, her bruised cheeks. Patrick put the chart at the foot of the bed and then moved closer to Sam. He reached over and placed his head next to Sam's and placed his arms around her, careful not to hurt her.

"You're ok now. You're safe. Before you know it you'll be home with Danny and everything will be back to normal," said Patrick as he broke the hug. He stood up and grabbed a tissue from the counter and walked back to Sam. He took the tissue and softly wiped away the tears that were running down Sam's face.

"What happened to me? You said I was in a car accident. Am I okay? Am I hurt?" asked Sam.

"You're fine, everything is ok," said Patrick.

"Patrick, stop saying that! Would everyone stop saying that! It just makes me think that there is something actually wrong with me. Just tell me please, I'm strong enough," pleaded Sam.

"You have a severe concussion. You'll get the occasional headaches and you probably won't want to watch TV for a while. You also have some cracked ribs which also punctured your lung which is why you have the nasty looking tube over there. Everything is pretty minor, some cuts and bruises. O wait, you also had a laceration on your forehead which resulted in several stiches," Patrick explained.

"Thank you for finally telling me. Was it that hard to tell me?" asked Sam.

"Sorry, it's just that it's never fun being the bearer of bad news," he responded.

"So how long until this nasty looking tube over here comes out," asked Sam as she looked down and saw the tube, now knowing its purpose.

"Several days. Your ribs will still hurt afterwards though," he answered.

"How long until I can come home?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on how well your lungs are doing. At least a weak," said Patrick quietly.

"When can I see Danny?"

"You're in the ICU and according to hospital policy no one under the age of 13 can visit a patient in the ICU. I think if all goes well you'll be out of ICU tomorrow," he answered, "you want to go back to your medical chart?"

Alexis walked in just as Patrick was going to pick up the chart again.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" asked Alexis as she walked in, "don't answer that. I have a small surprise." Molly walked in after the cue.

"Hi Sam, I know I'm not Danny but…" Molly started.

"O come on. I love my little sister just as much. Come here baby," said Sam as she held her one good arm open to invite Molly for a hug.

"Just be careful Molly. Don't hurt her," said Alexis. Molly used extra precaution. Patrick stood up and walked away from Sam so that Alexis could also give Sam a hug and sit down next to her.

"I'll leave you three girls alone to talk about girly stuff," said Patrick.

"Do you mean to tell me that you don't like talking about the latest fashions on the red carpet?" Alexis laughed.

"Yes and I'm pretty sure Sam isn't very interested either," said Patrick as he winked to Sam and left the room.

"How is the head?" asked Alexis.

"It's alright, I can deal with it. It's pretty normal to have a small headache after a severe concussion," Sam answered, "how is little Danny?"

"He misses you a lot. He has been really fussy and TJ and I tried our best to get his mind off of everything that was going on but it didn't always work," Molly answered.

"Aww poor boy, I really hope to see him tomorrow."

* * *

Thank you again for all the reviews!


End file.
